Ginjiro Shigeoka (left) raises the IBF interim world minimumweight strap while his brother, Yudai (right), joins him in the ring. | Photo from Shigeoka’s Twitter account.
CEBU CITY, Philippines— Japanese Ginjiro Shigeoka earned the International Boxing Federation (IBF) interim world minimumweight title following a ninth-round knockout victory against Filipino ex-world champion Rene Mark Cuarto on Sunday evening in Tokyo, Japan.
Shigeoka’s victory killed Cuatro’s hopes of reasserting himself as a world champion after getting floored three times in the latter rounds of the bout.
The defeat dropped his record to 21 wins with four losses, two draws, and 12 knockouts.
Meanwhile, it was a statement win for the young Japanese, who improved his unbeaten record to nine wins with seven knockouts.
Shigeoka now has the full rights to issue a rematch against Mexican Daniel Valladares, whom he faced last January in Osaka, Japan. Valladares retained the IBF world minimumweight title after their bout was ruled no contest due to an accidental headbutt.
Despite the loss, Cuarto gave Shigeoka a good fight before bowing down in the ninth round.
Cuarto shocked Shigeoka with a right straight to score a knockdown in the opening round of their fight. Shigeoka quickly got back on his feet, only to get knocked down again. However, it wasn’t ruled a knockdown by the referee.
Both boxers received a warning from the referee after clashing their heads several times. It ultimately led to Cuarto suffering a deep cut under his left eye, which affected his composure.
The Japanese boxer took advantage of it and slowly gained momentum. Shigeoka also impressively broke the height and reach disparity between him and Cuarto with his excellent lateral movements and timely combinations.
His hard work paid off in the sixth round when he knocked down Cuarto but it was also later ruled as a slip.
In the seventh round, however, Shigeoka made sure to even the fight with a legitimate knockdown by landing vicious combinations to Cuarto.
The Filipino got back on his feet and continued to fight toe-to-toe against Shigeoka.
Sensing victory, Shigeoka scored another knockdown. This time, he landed a devastating left hook to the body. Cuarto was able to barely beat the referee’s mandatory count, only to get pummeled anew with another combination that finished him off from the fight.
The referee, Katsuhiko Nakamura, stopped the bout at the 2:55 mark of the ninth round, awarding the victory to Shigeoka.
“Quarto was tough and strong. I still have a long way to go, but thanks to everyone’s support, I was able to fight through to the end. It was great fun. Thank you very much,” Shigeoka tweeted.
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