New champion alert: Rene Santiago wins WBO jr. fly title in Japan

Source: WBO

14/03/2025

New champion alert: Rene Santiago wins WBO jr. fly title in Japan

René Santiago W12 Shokichi Iwata... Puerto Rico has a new boxing champion as René “Chulo” Santiago was crowned the WBO junior flyweight champion with a big road upset over Japan's Shokichi Iwata by unanimous decision at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo. The 32 year-old Santiago is just 14-4 in his career, and barely a year removed from a failed title bid against Iwata's predecessor, Jonathan Gonzalez. Santiago dominated the twelve-round fight and the official scorecards favored him by scores of 116-112, 117-111, and 118-110. There was a moment of confusion when the referee mistakenly raised Iwata’s arm at the end of the fight, but quickly corrected himself. Iwata's title reign ended afdter just five months, and his record falls to 14-2.