WBC President Says Injury Led to Juan Estrada's Loss Against Tenshin Nasukawa

The knives were out for Juan Estrada (45-5, 28 KOs) after his loss to Japanese star Tenshin Nasukawa (8-1, 3 KOs). Many boxing pundits said it was time for "El Gallo" to hang them up after he lost via corner stoppage. However, it has now been revealed that the Mexican warrior suffered broken ribs in the bout, which may well change the story of his fight.

“[Estrada] fought with two broken ribs, and by the end of the ninth round, it became nearly impossible for him to breathe, which is why he decided not to continue,” said World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman in a post on the World Boxing Council website.

Sulaiman was ringside in Tokyo for the fight in which Nasukawa earned the stoppage victory over Juan Estrada in the 9th Round. The fight was part of a "Japan vs. Mexico" card at the Ryogoku Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Estrada actually had a solid start in this fight and was effective with straight right hands. Then there was a brutal clash of heads in the sixth round. The clash happened at the same time as a body shot, and Estrada went down — though it was not ruled a knockdown for obvious reasons, the damage was done. Perhaps this was the punch that resulted in the broken rib.

Again, Estrada was very much in this fight until that moment. Indeed, two of the official ringside judges actually had the WBC Bantamweight Title Eliminator even after four rounds.

Nasukawa, a former kickboxer, fought Estrada the way Rico Verhoeven hopes to fight Oleksandr Usyk next month at the pyramids in Giza, by using his kickboxing footwork to open up new angles. It didn’t always work out for Nasukawa, but it made the fight an entertaining one to watch. With the win, he now has a combined combat sports record of 42-0 in kickboxing, 8-1 in boxing, and 4-0 in mixed martial arts.

Until this fight, Nasukawa's victory over Jason Moloney was probably his most famous win in boxing. And his stoppage loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr., in a fight that was technically an exhibition, was his most infamous.

Voices were loud that “El Gallo,” who held the lineal 115 lbs championship and also unified 112 lbs titles at one point in his career, should retire. His injuries may lead him to reconsider his future, but prior to this fight, the 35-year-old made no indication he would hang them up.

While he faced a number of big stars in his career, including Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Roman “Chocolatito” González and Carlos Cuadras, "El Gallo" remains one of the defining figures of the lower-weight divisions of his era.

One possible future opponent might be Nonito Donaire, who lost a fight of his own in Japan earlier this year. A sort of “legends” fight between the two of them might be marketable if Estrada makes a full recovery from his injuries.

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