Tokyo, Dec 31 (IANS) Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue knocked out Omar Narvaez of Argentina in the second round to grab the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) junior bantamweight belt.
The 21-year-old Japanese, remaining unbeaten, previously captured the World Boxing Council (WBC) light flyweight title in April and defended it in September, reports Xinhua.
For this match Tuesday, Inoue jumped up two categories in an ambitious shot to fight Narvaez, 39, who had defended the WBO belt for 12 years.
Inoue was in control from the start of the bout, putting his experienced opponent to the floor three times, before finishing with a killer left body punch that kept Narvaez on his knees.
Inoue’s professional record now stands at eight wins, seven by knockout.
In another bout, Mexican Pedro Guevara lifted the WBC light flyweight title by flooring Japanese fighter Akira Yaegashi.
Jorge Linares of Venezuela won the WBC lightweight title by beating Mexico’s Javier Prieto, collecting his third world title with his fourth-round knockout, after winning the WBC featherweight and the World Boxing Association super featherweight titles.