Noynay stops Saka, clinches WBO crown

MANILA, Philippines – Joe Noynay found holes on Kosuke Saka’s defenses and pounded out a second round knockout victory Saturday night, April 20, to clinch the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia Pacific crown at Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan.

Timing his shots well, Noynay downed the Japanese slugger again with hard shots, prompting Saka’s corner to surrender the fight.

Not awed by Noynay’s punching power and his Jawbreaker moniker, Saka expectedly attacked wildly and got confident when he rocked the Filipino southpaw with a solid right early in the first round.

Undaunted, Noynay fought back with a combination, capped by a big left, that put Saka down for the 8-count.

True to his reputation, Saka opted to trade punches rather than clear his head and got caught with a right hook and a left straight for another knockdown.

Saka beat the count anew and the first round ended shortly after.

The 23-year-old Noynay, fighting out of the (Gabriel) Bebot Elorde Gym, raised his record to 17-2-1 with 6 knockouts, while Saka fell to 18-5, 15 KOs.

Noynay’s corner was manned by Bebot Elorde himself and chief trainer Artcher Villamor, who relied mainly on the accuracy of scouting reports indicating that the 27-year-old Saka is heavy-handed but with crude boxing skills.

During the official weigh-in on Friday, April 19, Noynay, who hails from Bogo Cebu, checked in at 129.7 pounds while Saka was right on the dot at 130.

According to Philboxing’s Carlos Costa, former world champion Malcolm Tunacao, now a coach at Japan’s Blue Sky Boxing Gym, were among the Filipinos who cheered on Noynay. – Rappler.com