TOKYO, May 19: Japan’s Yusuke Kobori picked himself off the canvas to stop champion Jose Alfaro of Nicaragua in

the third round and win the WBA lightweight title on Monday.

Kobori backed up his pre-fight promise to end Alfaro’s brief reign early, winning by technical knockout just over two minutes into round three of their scheduled 12-rounder in Tokyo.

The 24-year-old Alfaro won the belt from Thailand’s Prawet Singwancha last December and was making his first defence against an opponent two years his senior.

Kobori was floored by a big combination from Alfaro in the second round but the WBA’s seventh-ranked fighter responded with a devastating left hook to the Nicaraguan’s jaw in the next.

The challenger continued to pour on the pressure before Alfaro was spared further punishment by the referee.

“I’m delighted,” Kobori told reporters. “We had been working on that left hook in training and it just connected perfectly.It was a tough fight and I was in trouble early on. I guess I just hate losing.”

Kobori, who became Japan’s third world champion at lightweight and first since Takanori Hatakeyama in 2000, improved his record to 23 wins, two defeats and one draw.

Alfaro, one of American promoter Don King’s stable of fighters, slipped to 20 wins against four losses and one no contest.—Reuters