Japan’s Takuma Inoue won the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight belt by defeating Liborio Solis in their bout this weekend at the Koto Ku Arena, Japan. 

The home fighter got the unanimous decision with cards of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112 in a fight in which he had to go from less to more and adapt to overcome an insistent and aggressive opponent.

Distance and counter punching were key as Inoue began to control Solis’ attack as the rounds went by. Although it was difficult for him in the early stages, he was able to figure out the Venezuelan to take advantage on the scorecards, especially in the final rounds. 

Takuma won the title recently vacated by his brother Naoya Inoue, who moved up to super bantamweight and was in ringside supporting the victory on Saturday. 

With the victory, the new champion now has a record of 18 wins, 1 loss and 4 knockouts, while Solis has a record of 35 wins, 7 setbacks, 1 draw and 16 knockouts.