TAGBILARAN City, Bohol—Regie Suganob gave his Japanese foe a neat lesson in boxing on his way to scoring an eighth-round technical knockout (TKO) win in the main event of “Kumong Bol-anon XV” on Tuesday, April 30, at the Holy Name University Barder Gym here.

Putting on a show before a sizable hometown crowd, Suganob outclassed Kai Ishizawa and kept the WBO Global light flyweight belt that he won over a Venezuelan opponent last year.

Suganob won his second straight bout after faltering in a world title fight in South Africa in July last year, improving his record to 15 wins against a single loss including five knockouts.

He, however, sustained a huge cut on his forehead following a clash of heads early in the first round.

The cut didn’t slow down Suganob, who delivered accurate punches to ward off the aggressive Ishizawa.

Suganob scored the fight’s first knockdown when he tagged Ishizawa with a solid left hook early in the eighth round. Smelling blood, Suganob pressed on the attack and floored Ishizawa anew with a flurry of combinations.

Referee Danrex Tapdasan didn’t even bother to count after seeing Ishizawa had taken serious blows just as he dropped to the canvas. 

The ending came at the 2:38 mark of the eighth round.

Ishizawa was put on oxygen and was stretchered off the venue for further medical attention.

Ishizawa, who vowed to continue Japan’s dominance over Filipino boxers, absorbed his fourth loss against 11 victories including 10 KOs.