WBA World Super Featherweight Title Eliminator (10 rounds, as announced by the promoter): WBA No. 9 ranked Hayato Tsutsumi (Shisei Gym) – 5 wins, 0 losses (2 KOs) – vs former world champion and WBA No. 14 ranked René Alvarado (Nicaragua) – 34 wins (22 KOs), 14 losses. The bout took place on December 31 at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, marking the final boxing match in Japan for the year 2024.
Tsutsumi previously fought on April 17, 2024, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo against former WBA bantamweight world champion Anselmo Moreno (Panama) in a 10-round featherweight bout. However, he failed to make the contracted weight, coming in 1.55 kg over the limit. Although Tsutsumi won the fight by third-round KO, he was suspended by the JBC for six months and made his comeback in a higher weight class.
Against the 35-year-old former world champion Alvarado, Tsutsumi showcased a clear difference in speed and took control of the pace from the early rounds.
Although Alvarado is highly experienced against top-level opponents, he was overwhelmed by Tsutsumi’s speed, unable to turn the fight into his favored slugfest, and continued to struggle through one disadvantageous round after another.
In the eighth round, Alvarado was rocked by a counter left hook from Tsutsumi.
Tsutsumi didn’t let the opportunity slip away and secured a referee stoppage victory with a flurry of punches.
TKO time: 1 minute 55 seconds of the 8th round.
In his 49th professional bout, Alvarado suffered just the second KO loss of his career. He praised Tsutsumi, saying, “I couldn’t keep up with his speed. He has the qualities to become a world champion.” Watching ringside, Tsutsumi’s gym senior Kazuto Ioka also praised the performance: “That was amazing. He can definitely fight for a world title next year.”
Tsutsumi commented, “I want to beat the strong fighters in this division one by one,” and regarding a world title challenge, he expressed his hopes, saying, “If the opportunity comes at the end of 2025, I’ll be ready.”
In the WBA super featherweight division, current champion Lamont Roach (USA) – 25 wins (10 KOs), 1 loss, 1 draw – is already scheduled to challenge WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis (USA) – 30 wins, no losses (28 KOs) – on March 1 (March 2 Japan time) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Additionally, the division has an interim champion, Albert Batyrgaziev (Russia) – 11 wins (8 KOs), no losses – who captured the interim title by defeating Jono Carroll (Ireland) – 24 wins (7 KOs), 3 losses, 1 draw – via 9th-round TKO on July 12, 2023 (Japan time July 13) in Serpukhov, Russia.
The WBA had ordered a unification bout between Roach and Batyrgaziev. However, Roach’s team requested a special exemption from the WBA to prioritize the fight against Davis. After negotiations with Batyrgaziev’s camp, the WBA approved this exemption on a one-time-only basis. If Roach defeats Davis, he must choose within five days which title (super featherweight or lightweight) to retain. If he loses, he is obligated to fight Batyrgaziev within 120 days.
Also, ranked No. 1 in the WBA super featherweight division is Otar Eranosyan (Georgia) – 14 wins (7 KOs), no losses – who defeated former champion Roger Gutiérrez (Venezuela) – 29 wins (22 KOs), 6 losses, 1 draw – via TKO at the end of the 8th round in a 12-round title eliminator on August 9, 2023 (Japan time August 10) in Plant City, Florida.
Eranosyan was supposed to challenge Roach after his mandatory defense, and the mandatory title bout was originally expected to take place last year. However, due to delays in Roach’s schedule, and because his planned opponent Carroll ended up fighting Batyrgaziev for the interim title, Eranosyan has been left waiting and hasn’t fought since the Gutiérrez bout. The situation is likely to remain unclear even after the Davis vs. Roach fight.
This article has been translated and published with permission from BOXING MASTER.
https://boxing-master.com/prof/embed/#?secret=x2hdidccEV#?secret=JaONuGYWG5
This article has been translated and published with permission from the original author.
The original content belongs to [Name of author/blog].