Joshua vs Takam: Kal Yafai defeated Sho Ishida via unanimous decision
Sunday 29 October 2017 00:09, UK
Kal Yafai successfully defended his world title against Sho Ishida in Cardiff on Saturday.
WBA super-flyweight champion Yafai won a unanimous decision against his mandatory challenger from Japan, who was previously unbeaten in 24.
"I wasn't too impressed [with my performance]," Yafai said. "A bit sluggish, but I got the the win against an awkward opponent.
"My hands are sore, so we'll see how long they will keep me out. If I could get out in the spring, that would be great."
Yafai aimed for the body in the early rounds and caught his challenger, who started cautiously, with shots that would pay off later in the fight.
Ishida had never fought outside of his native Japan before and was never able to settle in his first fight abroad due to Yafai's aggressively thrown left hook, both to the body and head. Ishida was overpowered but was rarely caught clean by the champion in the first six rounds.
Unbeaten Yafai withstood a decent left hand in the seventh and responded by successfully hitting the body, clearly winding Ishida. Yafai then knocked him backwards into the ropes in the eighth round.
Yafai began punching with added venom in the last three rounds as Ishida fell further behind on the scorecards but his opponent deservedly heard the final bell.
The scorecards read 118-110, 116-112, 116-112 in Yafai's favour. His second completed defence moved his career record to 23-0.
