Takuma Inoue gives Jerwin Ancajas first stoppage loss to defend title

Takuma Inoue successfully defended his WBA world bantamweight for the first time following a ninth-round stoppage over Jerwin Ancajas on Saturday at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.

Ancajas opened the contest with jabs seemingly gauging what Inoue had to offer. The Japanese, meanwhile, countered with his right hand and left hook landing some of them at the Filipino boxer.

He then pressed the action in Round 2 with his patented left straight to the head and body. In Round 3, a couple of clean right hands from Inoue stung Ancajas before they went toe to toe on the inside the next round.

Inoue repeatedly landed his right hand as the Filipino boxer pressed the action in round 6. Ancajas then came back the following round, as he attacked and went for the body fighting in the pocket.

The fighters went toe to toe on the inside in the ninth round, but Inoue came out on top as he stopped Ancajas with an uppercut to the body. Down and hurt, the referee halted the contest at the 44-second mark of Round 9.

The win improved Inoue's record to 19-2 with 5 knockouts while Ancajas dropped to 34-4-2 with 23 knockouts.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News