Joppy retains WBA title

Joppy's power proved too much for Hozumi

American William Joppy stopped Naotaka Hozumi in the 10th round to keep his World Boxing Association middleweight crown.

The challenge of the Japanese fighter was ended via a technical knockout.

Joppy set the tone for the bout in the opening round, landing a series of upper cuts and jabs on the 27-year-old challenger.

But Joppy failed to register a knockdown at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan Arena, but rocked Hozumi in the 10th round.

Hozumi is a great boxer but he is not at my level

William Joppy

A stream of punches peppered Hozumi, who barely kept his footing, and it was up to British referee John Coyle to stop the fight at 2 minutes, 48 seconds into the round.

Hozumi was unable to tag the holder with any effective punches and many of his blows failed to land.

"Hozumi is a great boxer but he is not at my level," Joppy said.

The 32-year-old Joppy was defending the title he regained by beating Howard Eastman of Britain with a majority decision last November in Las Vegas, Nevada.