Cazares beats Nashiro for a jr. bantamweight belt

Former RING junior flyweight champ Hugo Cazares battled Nobuo Nashiro from the opening bell to the end of their rematch, winning by scores of 117-111 (twice) and 115-113, to lift the rugged beltholder's junior bantamweight title in Osaka, Japan on Saturday.

Referee Russell Mora told Japanese boxing scribe Joe Koizumi the 12-round fight was "the hardest toe-to-toe combat he had ever officiated."

The unanimous decision victory earned Cazares (31-6-2, 22 knockouts) his second major belt and a measure of revenge over his Japanese rival.

When the two RING-rated junior bantamweights fought last September in Japan, Nashiro (13-2, 8 KOs) earned a hard-fought draw over the 32-year-old Mexican challenger to keep his 115-pound belt.

Saturday's rematch was only the second loss of the 28-year-old Osaka resident's impressive pro career. Nashiro won his major first title via 10-round technical decision over Martin Castillo (30-1 at the time) in July of 2006. It was his eighth pro bout.

Nashiro lost that title to hard-punching former beltholder Alexander Munoz via 12-round decision in May of 2007. Nashiro regained the belt with a decision over RING-rated Kohei Kono in September of 2008 and defended the strap twice before losing to Cazares.

Nashiro was THE RING's No. 2-rated junior bantamweight going into Saturday's rematch with Cazares, who was rated No. 4 by the magazine.