By Keith Idec

Ken Shiro’s second fight against Ganigan Lopez wasn’t nearly as difficult as their first fight.

Japan’s Shiro knocked out Lopez in the second round of their scheduled 12-round rematch Friday night in Tokyo. Shiro landed a right hand to Lopez’s body that quickly ended their fight for Shiro’s WBC light flyweight title.

Mexico’s Lopez went down to his gloves and knees with 1:15 to go in the second round. The southpaw couldn’t get to his feet before referee Vic Drakulich’s count reached 10 and their fight was stopped at 1:58 of the second round.

Shiro (13-0, 7 KOs) made the third defense of the WBC 108-pound title he won against Lopez just over a year ago. Lopez made that first fight very difficult, but Shiro won a majority decision to take the title at Ariake Coliseum.

The 26-year-old Shiro won that first bout by the same score on two cards, 115-113. A third judge scored that closely contested bout even (114-114).

Before Friday night, the 36-year-old Lopez (34-8, 19 KOs) had fought just once in the one year and one week since suffering that first defeat to Shiro. His opponent remained more active by making two title defenses between their meetings.

Lopez lost by knockout for the second time in a pro career that began in August 2003.

Their rematch was streamed live in the United States on ESPN+, just before the main event between WBA bantamweight champion Jamie McDonnell and Naoya Inoue. 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.