TOKYO – Jonas Sultan of the Philippines took a staggering first-round knockout loss against the less experienced Riku Masuda of Japan in their non-title bantamweight contest Saturday at the Kokugikan Arena here.
Sultan, who once took a shot at the WBO interim bantamweight crown but failed, tried to dance with his Japanese foe in the opening minute of the bout until he got caught with a crunching left straight to the ribcage.
AND WE'RE OFF!! WHAT A BODY SHOT ????#InoueAncajas #SantiagoNakatani | Live on @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/SY2Wz8MR9P
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The 32-year-old Cebuano went down in pain and could barely get up to beat the count. He grimaced while on his knees as the referee waved him off. The end came with a 50 seconds left in the opening round.
The Japanese crowd roared in approval as Masuda, young and strong, improved his record to 4-1. Sultan, who has fought in London, New York and Liverpool, went down to 19-7 and took his first KO defeat.
Sultan came to the fight with little gas on his tank. He arrived from the United States only two nights ago, and must be jet-lagged by the time he climbed the ring of the historic arena.
“It was my left body punch and it felt really, really good,” said the 26-year-old Masuda, now being lined up for a possible shot at a world title at 118 pounds, through an interpreter.
Sultan shook his head as he headed to the dressing room, not knowing what his future holds after absorbing his second loss in his last three fights.
"Pinilit ko tumayo pero hindi talaga ako makahinga. Masakit talaga," said Sultan, who once fought fellow Filipino Jerwin Ancajas at 115 pounds and lost on points.