Elwin Soto stops Katsunari Takayama in nine rounds

Mexico's WBO World Light-flyweight titleholder Elwin Soto made the third defence of his title when he stopped Japan's Katsunari Takayama in the 9th round of an exciting match on the same card as Saul Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The ending of the fight may have been controversial as some felt that referee Laurence Cole stopped the action at a point where Takayama looked capable of continuing. The Japanese veteran's last stoppage defeat took place of 18-years previously, but hopefully, no one is doubting Cole's integrity or wealth of experience at the world-class level.

There should be no doubt about who was winning the fight as Soto had landed most of the hard shots, rocking the challenger on several occasions.

A rematch would be welcomed to sort out and questions that the ending threw up.