American William Joppy outclassed 14th-ranked challenger Naotaka Hozumi and retained his World Boxing Association middleweight championship with a TKO in the 10th round at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan on Thursday.
Joppy, too quick and too accurate with his punches for Hozumi, scored with crisp jabs and uppercuts against Hozumi throughout the fight until referee John Coyle stepped in to end the fight at 2:48 of the 10th round.
In the decisive round, Joppy slowed Hozumi with a right straight and followed with a series of lefts and rights that scored against the defenseless challenger before Coyle jumped in to end it.
"I did as I was told, to stick and move. Hozumi is a great athlete, but he's still not at my level," said Joppy, well ahead on all three of the judges' scorecards through nine rounds.
Joppy, who won the title for a third time last November, saw his record improve to 34 wins, including 25 by knockout, against two losses and a draw.
It was also Joppy's second win against a Japanese boxer in a world title fight after he dethroned then-WBA champion Shinji Takehara, also by TKO, in 1996.
Hozumi, who called the fight a "good experience," slipped to 21-3-1 with 18 KOs.
"The fight was just as you saw it. I was completely out-gunned," Hozumi said.