Daigo Higa was stripped of the WBC flyweight title on April 14 and now a new champion was crowned on April 15.
Cristofer Rosales got the biggest win of his pro career when he defeated Higa by TKO in the ninth round to win the then-vacant WBC title. The fight was the co-feature to a boxing event at Yokohama, Japan that was headlined by the WBA "regular" middleweight title fight between Ryota Murata and Emanuele Blandamura.
Higa, a young star in Japan who was previously unbeaten with a 15-0 record with 15 KO, was stripped of the title the day before the fight because he missed weight. Higa came in at 114 pounds, two pounds over the 112-pound flyweight limit, while Rosales came in at 111.4 pounds.
Rosales dominated the shorter Higa, who couldn't overcome Rosales' reach. The young Japanese knockout artist started receiving heavy punishment from Rosales as the fight progressed. Higa's corner stopped the fight after the ninth round and Rosales was crowned the winner and the new WBC titleholder.
With Rosales as the champion, Rosales' first challenge could come in the form of No. 1 ranked Andrew Selby. Selby actually defeated Rosales by unanimous decision back in 2017 in a close fight that saw Rosales nearly knock out Selby in the first round. Rosales previously held the WBC Latino and International flyweight titles and improves his record to 27-3.
Higa won the title last May when he knocked out Juan Hernandez Navarrete win the then-vacant title. Higa has made two title defenses, last defending his title against Moises Fuentes back in February.
