Teiken Gym announced on 1st June that WBA minimumweight champion Ryusei Matsumoto has vacated his title. Matsumoto captured the regular championship last September by defeating Yuni Takada (Lions) in a vacant title bout in Nagoya, and subsequently registered his first successful defence with a victory over Takada in their rematch this past March.
WBAタイトルの返上を発表した松本（左は浜田剛史代表）
Matsumoto, currently undergoing a training camp in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, explained his decision to vacate through the gym’s official website: “I wanted to fight strong opponents without being constrained by the boundaries of sanctioning bodies.” The current minimumweight landscape features unified WBA Super and WBO champion Oscar Collazo (Puerto Rico), WBC champion Siyakholwa Kuse (South Africa), and IBF champion Pedro Taduran (Philippines).
In the newly released WBA rankings as of June 1, Matsumoto is rated number one in the minimumweight division, followed by Takeshi Ishii (Ohashi) at number two and Wilfredo Mendez (Puerto Rico) at number three.
