On Thursday we saw two title bouts being announced in Japan, one a domestic title bout, and one a regional title bout.
The first of the two to take place will be a bout for the OPBF Super Featherweight title, as 21 year old Kai Watanabe (12-1-1, 6) [渡邊海] takes on the unbeaten Toshihiro Suzuki (5-0, 4) [鈴木稔弘], at Korakuen all on August 22nd, fighting for the title last held by Masanori Rikiishi. For Watanabe this will see him look to add to his trophy cabinet, which also includes the Japanese Youth Super Featherweight title, and marks his third successive fight against an unbeaten fighter. As for Suzuki the bout will be his first against a fellow Japanese fighter, having fought on visitors from Thailand and the Philippines so far.
This bout will be shown on Abema as the headline bout of a Shisei promoted card.
The other bout will see Japanese 140lb champion Kuntae Lee (7-0-2, 1) [李健太], make his first defense, doing so on September 7th, at Korakuen Hall, against Ryan Joshua Yamamoto (7-6, 1) [山本ライアン ジュシュア]. For the challenger the bout will be his first title bout, and although he is something of an underwhelming challenger, he should manage to get Lee some good rounds, with Lee hoping to move beyond the domestic scene in the future.
This bout will be shown on U-Next as the headline bout of a U-Next Dynamic Glove show.
