Coming into this weekend we were hoping to report on two bouts in Germany, as all 4 Atomweight titles were scheduled to be fought for on the biggest night in the division’s history.
Sadly however today news came out that one of the two scheduled contests had been cancelled, as former WBC champion Fabiana Bytyqi (21-1-2, 5) was forced to pull out of a contest with IBF queen Sumire Yamanaka (8-0, 3) [山中菫], citing dehydration. The move sees Yamanaka’s defense being cut from the show before the fighters got the chance to weigh in, and saw Yamanaka stated "I was in great condition so it's unfortunate that the match has been cancelled, but my motivation hasn't dropped. I will continue to practice hard for the next one, so please support me. I'm truly sorry to everyone who was looking forward to the match."
Despite Yamanaka’s bout falling through she will be a very interested spectator at the venue, as the other 3 belts will be on the line in a brilliant match up between Japan's Eri Matsuda (7-1-1, 1) [松田恵里] and Germany's Christina Rupprecht (13-1-1, 3), with Matsuda putting her WBO and WBA titles the line against the WBC champion.
Today those two both made the 102lb weight limit, with Matsuda making the divisional limit spot on, whilst Rupprecht was well under the limit, at 100.5lbs. Both looked great on the scales, and both seemed incredibly confident for what is, arguably, the biggest bout in the division's history, and the first time 3 of the 4 major titles will have been on the line, with Yamanaka hoping to get a shot at the winner in the new year.
