By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda
The Korakuen Hall was completely stunned by an unbelievable upset when upcoming but still unheralded Reito Takahashi (7-0, 7 KOs; amateur 58-11, 12 stoppages), 134.5, caught up with WBO#3, WBA#6 defending champ Shu Utsuki (18-2, 15 KOs; amateur 81-27, 23 KO/RSCs), 134.75, and finally decked him to score a knockout victory at 2:40 of the seventh round to capture the WBO Asia Pacific lightweight belt on Wednesday in Tokyo, Japan. Making his fourth defense, Utsuki, 32, was absolutely a prefight favorite and was expected to give the rookie a lesson with ease. But Reito, 25, showed an opening attack and badly shook him up with solid southpaw lefts and rights. Utsuki, in round three, regained his rhythm to effectively batter his challenger upstairs and downstairs. The fatal seventh saw Reito connect with a vicious and accurate southpaw left that dropped the champ so badly that his cornerman jumped in to save him from further punishment. We may watch their rematch soon, should Shu be eager to avenge this upset to prove it just a fluke.
Promoter: Ohashi Promotions.
