Japanese challenger Masataka Taniguchi fell short in his bid for the World Boxing Organization minimumweight title on Tuesday, losing a unanimous decision to champion Vic Saludar of the Philippines.
All three judges at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall scored the fight for Saludar, who had claimed the belt with victory over Ryuya Yamanaka last July.
The 28-year-old Saludar improved to 19-3 with 10 knockouts.
"I'm very happy. Everything went to plan," Saludar said. "I knew I had to aim for the body. I never felt in danger."
Taniguchi, 25, dropped to 11-3 with 7 KOs.
The Kobe-born southpaw had beaten Filipino Joel Lino for the WBO Asia Pacific minimumweight belt in his previous outing last November.