Ideta, 40, halts Kato, 39; keeps Japanese 154lb belt

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

It was an affair of a 40-year-young national champ defending his belt against a challenger, 39. Veteran late-bloomer Yuichi Ideta (19-6-1, 10 KOs), 153, impressively kept his Japanese super welterweight belt when he swarmed over JBC#3 Hisashi Kato (12-13-2, 8 KOs), 153.5, and finally halted him at 2:44 of the fifth round in a scheduled ten on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. Taking the pace from the outset, the champ caught up with the southpaw challenger, dropping him twice in round four.