LOS ANGELES: Miguel Berchelt retained his WBC world title on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) with a unanimous decision over former champion Takashi Miura in the first defence of his super featherweight belt. Mexico’s Berchelt won almost every round and it showed on the lopsided scorecards but the unflinching Miura fought on pride and looked like he could have knocked the champion out at any moment. “I was prepared because I knew I was facing an ex champion,” said Berchelt. Japan’s Miura (31-4-2, 24 KOs) was hoping to reclaim the WBC title which he held for more than two years before losing to Vargas in 2015. Down on points heading into the sixth round, Miura went looking for the knockout and it didn’t seem like a bad strategy for the Japanese dynamo who had 24 career knockouts coming into the bout.

Source: Manila Times July 16, 2017 05:48 UTC