YOKOHAMA (Japan), July 12: Noel Arambulet of Venezuela pounded out a split decision victory over Yutaka Niida of Japan to retain his World Boxing Association (WBA) minimumweight title on Saturday.

South Korean and Panamanian judges both scored the fight 115-114 in favour of the champion, while a Dutch judge made it 116-114 in favour of the Japanese challenger.

Arambulet was defending the title for the second time since wresting it from Japan’s Keitaro Hoshino in July last year. —AFP