Yudai Shigeoka wins WBC Interim straw-weight title by KO
Japanese southpaw Yudai Shigeoka (7-0, 5 KO) defeated Puerto Rican former world champion Wilfredo “Bimbito” Méndez (18-3, 6 KO) by knockout in the seventh round, to win the WBC interim straw-weight title, this Sunday in Tokyo, Japan.
Shigeoka, from Tokyo, scored knockdowns late in the fifth round and early in the seventh. The latter produced the end of the bout at 0:25 of the seventh round, elevating Shigeoka as the interim champion and challenger to WBC strawweight champion Panya Pradabsri.
Puerto Rico’s Mendez (18-3, 6KOs) accepted the fight on just a week’s notice and put up a good fight in the early rounds. But Shigeoka ended up dominating his last minute rival. The feat came just an hour after Ginjiro Shigeoka, Yudai’s younger brother, was crowned IBF champion.
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