Osaka--The Philippines' Jessebelle Pagaduan failed in her bid to bring home the WBO atomweight title, losing a unanimous decision to Japanese Nao Ikeyama yesterday at the Azalea Taisho here.
The young Pinay fighter started out like a house on fire, firing from all cylinders in the opening round that had the Japanese retreating for most of the first round.
However, things changed in the second round when Ikeyama started piling up points, opting to go on the offensive as Pagaduan seemed to have lost steam early.
The pattern did not change until the final round, as the 44-year-old Ikeyama continued to apply pressure to earn a unanimous verdict from all three judges.
WBO fight supervisor Leon Panoncillo awarded the belt to Ikeyama, making her the first WBO atomweight world champion.
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