Hiroto Kyoguchi Victorious In Ring Return At Flyweight
Two-division world champion Hiroto Kyoguchi (17-1, 11 KOs) had a successful return to the ring as he scored a unanimous decision win (100-90×3) over Roland Jay Biendima in a ten-round flyweight contest at the Sumida City Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan.
It was easy work for Kyoguchi, who controlled the action from the opening bell. Following the fight, the victor posted the following message on social media.
A former world champion at 105 and 108 pounds, it was Kyoguchi’s first fight since suffering a seventh-round stoppage defeat at the hands of Kenshiro Teraji in a light flyweight unification November 2022. It was the first loss of Kyoguchi’s career as a pro.
His unification showdown with Teraji was expected to be a nip-and-tuck affair. Instead, Kyoguchi was dominated throughout. Following the loss, Kyoguch decided to move up to the flyweight division.
SHOOTING FOR ANOTHER WORLD TITLE
The talent pool at the higher weight is vast, particularly at the top. Many pundits would make Kyoguchi an underdog in a fight against WBO champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, IBF champion Sunny Edwards and WBC champion Julio Cesar Martinez.
A battle against WBA champion Artem Dalakian may be Kyoguchi’s best route to winning a flyweight title. Dalakian is the oldest of the reigning 112-pound champions. The 35-year-old struggled mightily in a controversial win over David Jimenez January 2023. Due to Kyogochi being an ex-WBA champion at junior flyweight, look for him to get ranked by the WBA at flyweight in their future world rankings.
The win over Biendima is step-one toward his goal of becoming a three-division world champion. However, he may find things more difficult than he did as a minimumweight and junior flyweight.
