Felix Alvarado made his first defense of the IBF junior flyweight title a successful one, outpointing Reiya Konishi by unanimous decision on Saturday night at Portopia Hotel in Kobe, Japan.

The scores were 117-111, 116-112 and 118-110, as Alvarado (35-2, 30 knockouts) retains the belt he won last October, when he stopped Randy Petalcorin in the Philippines to pick up the vacant belt.

It was no walkover for Alvarado, with Konishi (17-2, 2 KOs) taking the punches of the heavy-handed Alvarado and remaining competitive through the first half of the fight, reported the Japan Times.

“The strength of Konish is incredible, I connected my best shots and he [persisted],” said Alvarado, 30, according to El Nuevo Dia.

“He absolutely overwhelmed me,” Konishi, 25, told Japan Times. “He was tougher than I thought he would be, and I was never able to seize the moment and turn things my way. I’m still some way from being good enough to take on the world.”

Alvarado, who is rated no. 5 by The Ring at 108 pounds, called out Japan’s top fighters in the division, WBC titleholder Ken Shiro and WBA titleholder Hiroto Kyoguchi, after the fight.