FORMER ALA Boxing Gym prospect Mark John “Journey Man” Yap successfully defended his Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) bantamweight title with a scintillating 10th-round knockout against a favored Japanese foe Seizo Kono last Sunday at the Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan.
The 28-year-old Japan based boxer, a native of Cagayan de Oro City, dropped Kono twice in the tenth round en-route to clinching his 28th victory, 13th by knockout. He has 12 defeats.
Yap dictated the fight by landing jabs and several combinations early on. In the middle rounds, Yap stepped up his game by bombarding the 28-year-old Kono with lethal combinations to the body and head.
In the 10th round, Yap connected a jab-straight combo followed by a hook to the body that sent Kono down to the canvas. The Japanese challenger managed to stand but Yap went for the kill and landed more body shots that sent his opponent to the canvas again.
This time, Kono failed to beat the count, awarding the victory to Yap.
Kono suffered his eighth loss. He has 19 wins, 12 by knockouts, and one draw.
This was the third time Yap defended his OPBF bantamweight title after winning the belt last year.