By Keith Idec
Naoya Inoue is “The Monster” most fans came to see destroy his opponent Saturday night in Yokohama, Japan.
That didn’t stop 108-pound champion Ken Shiro from producing an impressive knockout on the undercard. Shiro dropped Gilberto Pedroza twice during the fourth round and stopped him to retain his WBC light flyweight title on Inoue’s undercard at Bunka Gym.
The 25-year-old Shiro improved to 12-0 and recorded his sixth knockout in the second defense of the championship he won May 20. Panama’s Pedroza slipped to 18-4-2 (8 KOs) and lost by technical knockout for the second time in his five-year pro career.
Referee Laurence Cole stopped their fight at 1:12 of the fourth round.
Shiro’s overhand right hurt Pedroza 19 seconds into the fourth round and moved him back toward the ropes. Shiro saw that he was hurt and pounced on his 25-year-old opponent.
Several seconds later, Shiro drilled Pedroza with a left hook to the body and followed with two right hands to the head that left a buzzed Pedroza in a squatting position, then on one knee. Pedroza answered Cole’s count after the first knockdown, but the end was near.
Shiro swarmed him again and landed a right-left combination to Pedroza’s body that sent him to the canvas again. Cole came in and immediately called an end to their scheduled 12-round fight.
There weren’t any significant signs in the first three rounds that Shiro’s onslaught was coming.
Shiro stood his ground more in the third round than in the second, but didn’t land many telling shots. Pedroza was the aggressor in the second round, as Shiro pumped his jab and mostly moved away from him.
Neither Shiro nor Pedroza landed a significant punch during the first round, which each boxer spent on his toes, trying to find his range.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.