Can Xu's homecoming was a major success as he gave his Chinese fans a memorable title performance.
At a boxing card in Fuzhou, China, Xu stopped Shun Kubo in the sixth round to retain his WBA "Regular" featherweight title. It was Xu's first title defense since winning the belt by beating Jesus Rojas back in January.
The two fighters started the title bout throwing punches left and right with the crowd cheering wildly for the action. Xu had an easier time landing punches as his hooks were able to find a home in Kubo's jaw. Despite Xu winning the majority of the exchanges, Kubo landed some strong punches of his own to at least make a couple of rounds fairly close.
Starting in the fifth round, Xu broke down Kubo's defense as his flurries took its toll on the challenger. Xu effortlessly landed the left hook to the chin and Kubo had almost no answer for it, barely throwing a punch due to Xu's offensive onslaught. The end seemed to be near for Kubo when he was dropped by a sweeping left hook late in the fifth round.
Kubo was able to get back up and survive a late flurry from Xu to make it to the sixth round. As soon as the sixth round started, Xu kept throwing his combinations and overwhelmed Kubo, hurting him numerous times. The challenger fought the sixth round entirely on the defensive as Xu peppered him with nonstop power punches and the fight was stopped by the referee after Kubo was hurt on the ropes by a combination from Xu.
The victory now extends Xu's win streak to 14 fights, last losing a fight in 2014. While Xu holds the WBA "Regular" title at 126 pounds, Mexican boxer Leo Santa Cruz holds the "Super" version of the title.
