Masayuki Ito Salvages His Career With Impressive Win Over Valentine Hosokawa
Former WBO world super featherweight champ Masayuki Ito (27-3-1, 15 KOs) needed an impressive performance heading into the ring against Valentine Hosokawa (25-9-3, 12 KOs). He delivered with an eighth-round TKO win at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, in a ten-round lightweight contest.
Ito was on his A-game from the onset. He found a home for his right hand early and often. As the fight progressed, the 30-year-old began to unleash the entire arsenal. He started to land the jab, connect with left hooks, and punishing shots to the body.
By the mid-way point, Hosokawa had the look of someone that would not go the distance. The 40-year-old from Miyazaki, Japan was being bombarded and overwhelmed. The fifth and sixth rounds saw Ito land virtually anything he wanted.
A big right hand, followed up with a flurry of shots had Hosokawa badly hurt in the eighth. Even though he somehow remained on his feet, referee Katsuhiko Nakamura had seen enough. He stepped in and correctly waved the fight off with 1:43 to go in the round. What was anticipated to be a decent and pretty competitive contest was a one-sided beatdown.
WHERE DOES ITO GO FROM HERE?
Since losing the WBO World 130 pound title to Jamel Herring in May of 2019, it’s been a struggle for Ito. After a surprising defeat to Hironori Mishiro in December of 2020, he contemplated retirement. However, against Hosokawa, the former world champ looked sharp, rejuvenated, and showed the hunger that was sorely lacking during his fight against Mishiro.
The victor is now campaigning at a lightweight. His goal is to win another world title at 135 pounds. While looking very good during his win in Tokyo, in truth, it’s going to be an uphill battle for him to make a serious dent in a division full of young and talented fighters.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
