WBA bantamweight titleholder Takuma Inoue is now completely out of his older brother Naoya’s shadow after scoring a very impressive ninth-round body shot knockout of former champion Jerwin Ancajas in Tokyo on Saturday.
The official time was 0:44.
Inoue (19-1, 5 KOs) raked Ancajas with a powerful right to the midsection in round nine and the southpaw challenger didn’t take the hint. Almost immediately the champion doubled up with the same punch, which landed on the liver and dropped Ancajas for the count.
WATCH: Takuma Inoue vs. Jerwin Ancajas, exclusively on ESPN+
“I knew my opponent would be the best," said a jubilant Inoue during his post-fight interview. "I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m really glad that we got this result. My opponent was so skilled and so strong, which gives me so much confidence. I hope to show a new side of me moving forward.
“I have so much gratitude for my father (and trainer Shingo) and my brother. I’m just so grateful for them.”
The Ancajas left hand found the mark early although the Japanese star was able to pull back and take the full weight off that shot. Inoue was looking to counterpunch, which is what was expected, while the Filipino marched forward looking for harder blows.
But something you don’t see too often occurred in the third when the habitually light hitting Inoue hurt Ancajas badly with a pair of rights. The challenger’s legs looked wooden for a few seconds, which is probably the reason that Inoue elected to close the gap and fight inside.
Those tactics didn’t work in the fourth when Inoue was nailed with a heavy right hand. It was the best punch the home fighter had taken to that point and convinced him to switch back to the outside game. From that posture, Inoue began to score again with terrific rights to the head.
Inoue’s speed and superior craft were proving decisive by the middle rounds. Against the southpaw, he was managing to keep his left foot outside Ancajas’ right foot and that created the path for the laser-quick right hand down the middle. The challenger simply couldn’t solve this.
In round seven, Inoue came back inside. This was telling because it was clear that Ancajas' power wasn’t concerning him. The action was more competitive, but Inoue was now having the edge up close because he was quicker and busier.
Not to be outdone, Ancajas came back with perhaps his best round of the fight in the eighth. The Filipino lefty focussed his attack on the body and Inoue’s work was inaccurate throughout. It wasn’t a breakthrough from Ancajas by any means but it tightened up the scoring.
However, all that was academic when Inoue polished off his opponent in the very next round. This was a career-best performance from the champion and a message of intent has been sent to the other bantamweight titleholders.
Ancajas falls to 34-4-2, 23 KOs.
Takuma Inoue vs. Jerwin Ancajas fight card
- Takuma Inoue def. Jerwin Ancajas via KO 9 (0:44) for the WBA bantamweight title
- Junto Nakatani def. Alexandro Santiago via TKO 6 (1:12) for the WBC bantamweight title
- Kosei Tanaka def. Christian Bacasegua Rangel via UD 12 (119-108, 117-111, 116-111) for the WBO super flyweight title
- Riku Masuda def. Jonas Sultan via KO 1 (2:21); Bantamweights