Scott Quigg vs. Hidenori Otake: Winner, Scorecard and Analysis

Scott Quigg (30-0-2, 22 KOs) easily defended his WBA super bantamweight title against Hidenori Otake (22-2-3, nine KOs) in the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, on Saturday, winning by unanimous decision.

Quigg had a massive lead on all of the judges' scorecards, which read 119-109, 119-109 and 118-110.

Otake showed tremendous heart, surviving the final few rounds with a big cut over his right eye and handling Quigg's strong body shots. Ultimately, though, the Japanese challenger was visibly overmatched on a technical level from the opening bell.    

It was a massive night in Liverpool with plenty of exciting fights on the card, and Quigg only added to that. The Guardian's Sachin Nakrani was impressed with the champion's entry:

Little was known of Otake coming into the fight, with the 33-year-old facing only his first opponent outside of Japan. ByTheMin Boxing was curious to see what the challenger could bring to the table:

Facing an unknown opponent, Quigg understandably opted to open slowly, throwing tough, single punches as opposed to combinations. The tall Otake looked aggressive in the opening round, keeping things compact and showing a willingness to trade punches with the powerful Brit.

Quigg opened up in the second round, launching hooks into the body and head. Otake didn't seem to be bothered too much, answering with the jab. A big overhand right seemed to stagger the veteran, but he recovered quickly and even managed to throw a little combination of his own.

ByTheMin Boxing wondered whether Otake showed his true face during the exchange:

Otake showed little variation or a semblance of game plan in the first two rounds, but he tried to mix it up a little more in the third. He undoubtedly proved his toughness, seemingly not bothered in the slightest by the heavy punches Quigg kept throwing to the body.

Another big overhand likely won Quigg the fourth, a round that saw few punches landed at all. Otake's hand speed dropped, and Quigg appeared to be cruising along to the joy of the fans in Liverpool.

Manchester Evening News' James Robson saw blood coming from Otake's nose after the last haymaker:

He answered in the fifth round, however, dropping a handful of combinations that seemed to land cleaner than his previous shots. The arena's official Twitter feed chimed in on the bout:

Quigg countered Otake's tactics with better movement and footwork in the sixth, forcing Otake to move with him.

As the rounds went by, Quigg continued to dominate easily. BehindTheGloves wondered whether the champion would go for the stoppage or simply ride his lead on the scorecards:

Quigg seemed bent on dropping his opponent in the ninth, opening with a series of wild punches, but Otake took them well and kept moving forward. A cut appeared to open up above his right eye, but the two fighters still walked back to their corners smiling.

The cut got far worse in the 10th, however, and the fight was temporarily stopped midway through the round to allow the doctor to have a look at it. Yet Otake refused to sit down and instead went right at Quigg to close out the round.

ByTheMin Boxing even believed the 33-year-old won the round:

The referee had the doctors check the cut again in the 11th, knowing full well Otake was miles behind on points. Another big combination rocked him inside the final 10 seconds, and the referee again asked for the doctors to monitor the cut.

The last round went off without a hitch, and Quigg was the first to congratulate the man from Tokyo for surviving until the final bell, as the blood gushed out of the cut.

The Daily Star's Duncan Wright recognised Otake's performance, although it was clear Quigg had successfully defended his title:

Even his opponent had nothing but praise, via Sporting Life's Simon Crawford: " I knew he was durable and he was soaking everything up—one tough man. So I just stuck to my boxing."

While Otake's heroic performance was the story of the night, Quigg's inability to force the stoppage will be talked about more in the coming weeks.

The WBA super bantamweight champion has been dying for a shot at one of the top fighters in the division, and the likes of Carl Frampton, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Leo Santa Cruz won't be too impressed with his performance on Saturday.

Quigg looked good, but he had to do better to truly prove the doubters wrong. The undefeated 26-year-old will not have made any new fans against Otake, and he may have to wait another 12 months before he gets his chance at one of the top draws.