By Jake Donovan

OSAKA, JAPAN -- Katsunari Takayama is now a two-time strawweight titlist, the latest coming in a 7th round stoppage of countryman Go Odaira in a rare vacant unification title fight Wednesday evening in Osaka, Japan.

The 31-year old was able to rebound well from the punishing demands of his 12-round war with Francisco Rodriguez Jr. earlier this year, a bout that has earned worldwide accolades. His title reign came to an end that night, falling short in their unification match on the road in Mexico, but on a night where both fighters' stock skyrocketed given the savage nature of their fight. 

Rodriguez Jr. decided the fight was to be his last at strawweight, vacating both titles in the process. Both sanctioning bodies involved (IBF and WBO) agreed to make their titles available for this fight, rather than sanction separate vacant title fights, in the latest of a series of moves suggesting the alphabets are finally trying to do right by the sport. 

Takayama took full advantage of the opportunity, boxing well early on the night and slowly breaking down Odaira, who was fighting in his first major title fight.  The 30-year old southpaw offered a credible account of himself considering the circumstances, but was physically outmatched by the wily veteran before being rescued by referee Takeshi Shimakawa.

The official time was 2:44 of round seven.

Takayama improves to 28-7 (11KOs) with the win, enjoying a late career surge after having suffered early due to local politics. The Japanese Boxing Commissions (JBC) for the longest time only recognized the WBC and WBA as "legitimate" world titles, which meant any fighter from Japan was forced to hit the road for the opportunity to fight for another major title.

Because Takayama was a darling of the IBF, the veteran saw a three-year stretch of his career spent fighting in South Africa, Philippines and Mexico, the latter serving as the location where he finally won his first major belt with a 12-round win over Mario Rodriguez last March. 

Two successful defenses followed before conceding his belt to Rodriguez in a return trip to Mexico this past August. The 12-round left the local favorite drained, as Rodriguez decided shortly thereafter to move up in weight, as he is presently in pursuit of a title at 108 lb.

Takayama is fine right where he is, with patience parlaying into a second title reign, ending 2014 on a high note. 

The bout is due to air via same-day tape delay on TBS-Japan. Also scheduled are the show's two leading bouts: Kazuto Ioka versus Jean Piero Perez in a 10-round flyweight non-title fight; and World super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux in a title defense versus towering local challenger Hisashi Amagasa. 

Off-air, former strawweight titlist Ryo Miyazaki (22-1-1, 13KOs) picked up his second straight win, stopping debutant Kajonsak Nattapolgym in three rounds. The result was a complete reversal from last New Year's Eve, where a severely weight-drained and dehydrated Miyazaki landed on the business end of a 3rd round stoppage to Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr. in one of the year's biggest upsets. 

Overall, Miyazaki is 3-1 (2KOs) in New Year's Eve bouts, the biggest coming in 2012 when he outpointed Pornsawan Porpramook in a vacant 105 lb. title fight. The belt was made available by his mentor and gym mate, Kazuto Ioka, who won a belt at 108 lb. on that same card. 

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board, Yahoo Boxing Ratings Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox