NAGOYA, Japan — Mexico’s Christian Medina scored a shocking fourth-round stoppage over the previously undefeated Yoshiki Takei at IG Arena on Sunday. The official time was 1:21.

Medina, a hard-hitting slugger, decked the defending titleholder with a massive right-hand shot in the opening round and the writing was on the wall. He was never discouraged at any point in the biggest fight of his career and closed out in the fourth with a savage barrage of right uppercuts when Takei found himself trapped in a corner.

“I’ve been training so hard to get here,” said Medina during his post-fight interview. “I knew Yoshiki was a great fighter, so I prepared hard for this fight.

“Thank you so much to the Japanese fans. Please continue to give me your support so that I can fight in Japan forever.”

From the opening bell, every shot that Medina threw had dynamite on it. Takei’s punches were of nuisance value by comparison, and there were danger signs before the early knockdown had him staring up at the lights. He was badly hurt by that punch and didn’t find his feet until late in the count.

Takei found some rhythm in Round 3, but there was the feeling that the challenger was biding his time. Sure enough, another big right hand had him woozy again in the fourth, which signaled the Mexican to go through the gears. He went into a frenzy and battered his helpless opponent until the action was called off.

Medina (25-4, 19 KOs) had posted four wins since losing a decision to former world titleholder Ryosuke Nishida in August 2023. The feeling was that Takei, a big favorite coming in, was levels above, but upsets are good for boxing and this was a special win for a very determined fighter.

Given the brutal and decisive nature of this victory, a rematch is unlikely. Medina had now kicked open the door to potential unification matches with the likes of WBA counterpart Antonio Vargas.

Takei falls to 11-1 (9 KOs).

STRAWWEIGHT: Ryusei Matsumoto TD5 (1:26) Yuni Takada

LIGHTWEIGHT: Taiga Imanaga UD10 (100-90, 100-90, 99-91) Yudai Murakami

JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT: Shunpei Ohata TKO8 (0:47) Ei Go

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHT: Toshiki Shimomachi UD8 (80-72 x 3) Han Sol Lee

BANTAMWEIGHT: Taisei Ayano TKO4 (2:03) Yusuke Nawa