Yoshiki Takei enjoyed his title win in every way but one.
The absence of a knockout left the reigning WBO bantamweight titleholder just shy of fully content. The unbeaten Yokohama native hopes to resume that run, even against longtime friend and former flyweight titlist Daigo Higa.
Their scheduled 12-round bout takes place Tuesday at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Takei-Higa is the chief support to the Naoya Inoue-TJ Doheny RING/undisputed 122-pound championship. Both bouts air live on ESPN+ beginning at 5:45 a.m. ET.
Takei (9-0, 8 knockouts) attempts the first defense of the title he claimed in a decision win over Australia’s Jason Moloney. Their May 6 bout saw Takei survive a near-disastrous 12th round to win by scores of 116-111, 117-110 and 116-111. It marked the first distance fight of his young career.
“That fight in May, I won but I wasn’t able to get the knockout. Sorry, Daigo, but it’s coming on Tuesday,” Takei vowed during the final pre-fight press conference. “I can’t predict the exact ending of the fight. I plan to fight from my preferred distance and land the type of punches that cause him to fall.”
Takei only had two fights extend beyond the third round prior to his first career title bid. His longest bout to that point was an 11th round stoppage of Bruno Tarimo in Dec. 2022.
Higa (21-2-1, 19 KOs) has only suffered one career stoppage defeat. It came on a night when he miserably missed weight and saw his title reign come to an end. Nicaragua’s Cristofer Rosales reaped the benefits in an April 2018 ninth-round knockout to win the WBC flyweight title.
The only other defeat for Higa, 29, was an April 2021 points loss to Ryosuke Nishida (9-0, 1 KO), now the IBF bantamweight titlist. He enters this bout having won his past four starts, including back-to-back fourth-round knockout wins in 2023.
Both fighters were cordial in the presence of the other. The only difference, however, is that the defending title refused to buy into the friendly act.
“This is the first time we’ve met face to face since the fight was announced,” noted Takei. “He’s smiling as always. I’m trying my hardest to not be fooled by it. I want to be in control and win this fight decisively.”
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