Inoue Stopped Ancajas With a Ninth-Round Body Shot
Takuma Inoue stopped Jerwin Ancajas at 0:44 of round nine on February 24, 2024, at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Inoue retained the WBA bantamweight title in the first defense of the belt he had won the previous year.
A championship test in Tokyo
Ancajas challenged as a former IBF junior bantamweight champion with nine successful defenses of that title. Inoue was making his first defense of the WBA bantamweight championship, which he had claimed by decision over Liborio Solis.
Ancajas had moments of success, including a strong right hand in the fourth round. Inoue responded by using his speed and counterpunching, often working from range against the southpaw challenger.
The fight was scheduled for twelve rounds and remained competitive into the eighth. In the ninth, Inoue landed a right to the body that dropped Ancajas and ended the contest.
The WBA title stayed with Inoue
The official time was 44 seconds of round nine. The knockout gave Inoue his first successful defense and handed Ancajas the first stoppage defeat of his professional career.
The result took place at Kokugikan in Tokyo and headlined the Prime Video Presents Live Boxing 7 event. It was a WBA bantamweight title fight, not a super bantamweight contest.
The WBA’s report confirms the title defense and knockout. Japanese boxing coverage provides the official stoppage time and venue, details that anchor the result beyond the video highlight.
