Ideta, 40, halts Kato, 39; keeps Japanese 154lb belt

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

It was an affair of a 40-year-young national champ defending his belt against a challenger, 39. Veteran late-bloomer Yuichi Ideta (19-6-1, 10 KOs), 153, impressively kept his Japanese super welterweight belt when he swarmed over JBC#3 Hisashi Kato (12-13-2, 8 KOs), 153.5, and finally halted him at 2:44 of the fifth round in a scheduled ten on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. Taking the pace from the outset, the champ caught up with the southpaw challenger, dropping him twice in round four. Despite his persistent retaliation Ideta accelerated his attack to prompt the referee Yoshida’s well-received intervention. It was Ideta’s third successful defense to his credit.

Promoter: Misako Promotions.

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