JAKARTA - In a battle for the WBO Asia Pacific lightweight world title, Japanese contender Yoshitaka Kato fell short in the scorecards to Indonesian star Daud Yordan (34-3, 24KOs) at the the Sarbini Hall in Jakarta.

The fight had to be stopped in the ninth round due to Yordan suffering a cut from an unintentional clash of heads. All three judges gave it Yordan, who picked up a technical decision victory, with scores of 88-84, 87-84 and 88-83.

Yordan now wins four straight after suffering a knockout loss to Simpiwe Vetyeka in April of 2013.

Although disappointed, Kato said Yordan was the better man.

"These scores are very fair. Daud deserved the victory," Kato said in the locker room after the event. "The clash of heads was purely an accident. This was a very exciting fight. Indonesia is a beautiful country. I hope I'll be right back here to do a rematch with Daud."

Yordan's team expect him be out for at least four months due to the cut.

Meanwhile, promoter Raja Sapta Oktohari will try to get Yordan a world title shot and says a possible rematch with Kato could be an option.

"Of course were are going to try to get Daud a world title fight in the WBO and in the other sanctioning bodies. But regarding a rematch, we do not rule out the possibility. Therefore, we see some very interesting fights for him at this time."