YOKOHAMA - Takeshi Ishii rewrote Naoya Inoue's record for the fastest knockout by a Japanese male boxer in a world title bout on Wednesday as he seized the WBA minimumweight belt against Wilfredo Mendez of Puerto Rico.
First-ranked Ishii needed just one minute and five seconds to defeat his second-ranked opponent at Yokohama Buntai, five seconds faster than pound-for-pound star Inoue's WBA bantamweight world title win over Juan Carlos Payano of the Dominican Republic in October 2018.
"I steeled myself before stepping into the ring. It was great the strong side of me emerged from the first round," said the 26-year-old, who stands at 156 centimeters and trains at the same Ohashi Gym as Inoue.
Ishii had Mendez under pressure from the off and landed a left body shot before his sharp right to the forehead left the former world champion unable to get back to his feet within 10 seconds.
"Since I was little, I was always at the very front of the queue in order of height and was one with no talent. I'm happy to have proved a dream can come true with dedication," said Ishii, who also shaved five seconds off the record for the fastest knockout in a minimumweight world title bout as he improved to 12-1 with nine knockout wins.
In the WBA world title doubleheader, his compatriot Daiya Kira tied a Japanese record by winning a world title in just his fifth professional bout as he captured the light flyweight belt.
The top-ranked Kira defeated second-ranked Venezuelan Carlos Canizales by technical knockout 38 seconds into the seventh round with a left hook to the face, having already floored his opponent with the same punch in the third.
"I had the record in my mind from the start, but the (immediate) focus was on winning this bout and I'm happy," said Kira, who matched the record set by former four-division champion Kosei Tanaka.
The 23-year-old Kira has five wins with four knockouts.
