Elwin Soto Successfully Defends Flyweight Title Against Veteran Katsunari Takayama

Mexican flyweight champion Elwin Soto is still the champion of the world. The 24-year-old successfully defended his belt against veteran Japanese fighters Katsunari Takayama via a round 9 stoppage. Here’s how the fight panned out.

The two fought as the co-main event of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders event. Soto went into the bout as the firm favorite, while veteran Takayama came into the bout to prove a point at 37. Ultimately, the Mexican was too much for the Japanese, and extended his record to 19-1.

How did the Elwin Soto vs. Katsunari Takayama fight pan out?

Both fighters came out all guns blazing and threw bombs right away for three rounds straight. The champion got the better of the early exchanges and hurt Takayama on multiple occasions early on in the fight. He almost had Takayama out in the end of all the three rounds.

The fourth and fifth round brought more of the same as Takayama was the busier of the two but Soto was a class apart, landing the more power punches and getting control of the fight. By the sixth and seventh round, Takayama grew into the fight and started enjoying himself with little more theatrics in the ring.

TAKAYAMA IS STILL RARING TO GO pic.twitter.com/CGVEYhefkN

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 9, 2021

READ MORE: Billy Joe Saunders and Deontay Wilder Rivalry: What Happened Between the Two?

How did the fight end?

Round eight brought a different approach from both fighters. Takayama tried to land more power shots. However, Soto continued his superiority with a few more power shots which hurt the veteran.

The fight ended in the ninth round as Soto followed his corner’s advice and started teeing off on the Japanese boxer. The Mexican champion showed why he’s the champion and landed a flurry of punches which Takayama had no answer to.

As a result, the referee stepped in and waved the fight off before the veteran got dropped. So although the 37-year-old gave a good account of himself, he struggled with the Mexican’s power and eventually, lost due to a RSF.

What did you make of the Elwin Soto vs. Katsunari Takayama? Do you think the referee was right to stop the fight?

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