Daigo Higa’s reign as WBC flyweight champion continues with a quick and decisive second title defense.
It took Higa (15-0, 15 KO) less than three minutes to dispatch Moises Fuentes with a vicious body shot to retain his title. Fuentes started the fight well, throwing jabs and combinations and trading blows with Higa, but Fuentes started to fall behind Higa’s offense about two minutes into the fight. That’s when Higa landed a left body hook to Higa almost two-and-a-half minutes into the fight.
But even though Higa knocked down Fuentes, Fuentes actually got back up before the end of the 10-count. The referee actually put a stop to the contest because Fuentes took off his mouthpiece while he was still on the canvas, hoping to get a few more seconds of recovery. Seeing as how Fuentes tried to pull the stunt, the referee gave the knockout win to Higa.
The fight took place in Okinawa Prefectural Budokan in Naha, the next city over from Higa’s hometown of Urasoe. It was the third world title fight for Higa in nine months, winning the world title in that first fight and retaining his title last October.
After the fight, Higa said in an interview he was happy to play so close to home after spending the majority of his early career fighting in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.
“I came into this fight looking for a knockout, so I guess it’s cool that I did just that,” Higa said. “I’m happiest about being able to have a fight at home.”
Higa’s 15 straight knockouts ties the record for a Japanese boxer held by Tsuyoshi Hamada and Akibee Ushiwakamaru, and extends Higa’s Japanese record for most consecutive knockouts to start a pro career.
