KOBE, Japan: Indonesia's Chris John defeated Japan's Zaiki Takemoto on a technical knockout Sunday to retain his WBA featherweight title.
John sent Takemoto to the canvas in the sixth and eighth rounds with a series of punches to the head of the Japanese challenger, who wasn't able to continue after the ninth round.
John, who successfully defended his title for the eighth time, opened a cut above Takemoto's left eye in the fourth round and was never seriously challenged by the Japanese boxer.
The 27-year-old John improved to 40-0-1 with 21 knockouts. Takemoto dropped to 21-7-1 with 12 knockouts.
