June 6, 2015
TOKYO, JAPAN
Former WBC flyweight champ now campaigning in the 115-pound category, Japanese southpaw Toshiyuki Igarashi (21-2-1, 11 KOs), 115, displayed his superior speed and skills in outpunching game Filipino Renerio Arizala (12-2-1, 5 KOs), 113, to win a unanimous nod (99-92, 97-93, 97-94) over ten fast rounds on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Having been dethroned by compatriot Akira Yaegashi by an upset verdict in April 2013, the lanky lefty Igarashi moved up to the super-flyweight division and thus scored four victories in a row. Arizala fought well, but Igarashi proved too fast and shifty all the way for him to cope with. Accelerating his attack, Igarashi had Arizala on the brink of a knockdown with a fusillade of punches in the eighth and tenth.
Ex-WBA super-bantam ruler, Japanese lefty Akifumi Shimoda (29-4-2, 12 KOs), 126, returned to ring warfare after a 16-month hiatus and pounded out a unanimous verdict (78-75 twice, 78-74) over gutsy southpaw compatriot Gosuke Seki (16-2-2, 3 KOs), 126, over eight. Having been dispatched by Marvin Sonsona with a single left uppercut in Macao in February of the previous year, Shimoda made a fine comeback by utilizing his vaunted hand speed and quick mobility in piling up points steadily en route to a comfatable victory. Shimoda had wrested the WBA 122-pound belt from Ryol-Li Lee in January 2011, but yielded it to Rico Ramos via seventh round demolition in Atlantic City some five months later. Shimoda is expected to regain a world throne this time in the 126-pound category, as he is now a full-fledged featherweight.
Promoter: Teiken Promotions
(6-6-2015)