Danny Roman successfully defended his WBA junior featherweight title* Wednesday night, outpointing Ryo Matsumoto by 12-round unanimous decision at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday. Official scores were 119-109, 119-109, and 118-110.

Roman, who is rated No. 6 by THE RING at 122 pounds, was the more effective fighter, outboxing the taller Matsumoto throughout most of the contest. The Los Angeles resident landed repeatedly with counter or lead right crosses to the head and his victory was decisive.

“I’m thrilled with the decision,” said Roman (24-2-1, 9 knockouts). “We came here well-prepared to defend our championship and we did just that. I’m extremely thankful to all of my team for helping me get this win.”

“Danny made another statement,” said Alex Camponovo, matchmaker and general manager for Thompson Boxing.

Matsumoto, who hails from nearby Yokohama, drops to (21-2, 19 KO)s.

*Editor’s Note: Roman is the WBA’s only junior featherweight titleholder, but he has not been upgraded (from regular) following the organization’s decision to strip Guillermo Rigondeaux.

Undercard

Junior welterweight Andy Hiraoka won a one-sided eight-round decision over Fumisuke Kimura (6-3, 4 KOs). Scores were 80-72, 80-72, and 80-73 for Hiraoka, who improves to (12-0, 8 KOs).

Junior lightweight Seiichi Okada (21-6-1, 12 KOs) stopped Kazuaki Miyamoto (5-2, 4 KOs) at 2:30 of the third round.

Francisco A. Salazar can be reached by email at [email protected] and on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing

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