Teiken Gym announced on the 24th that featherweight southpaws Mikito Nakano and Kenji Fujita will compete in “DYNAMIC GLOVE ON U-NEXT 43,” to be held at Korakuen Hall on Wednesday, May 6 (a public holiday).
In the main event, Nakano—who holds world rankings in three organizations, including WBO No. 4—will make his return after losing an IBF title eliminator last November. In his previous bout, his punching power was neutralized by Ra’eese Aleem (USA), resulting in a 12-round decision loss and his first professional defeat. Having missed out on his first world title opportunity, Nakano has vowed to bounce back and is now set to face IBF No. 4 Lerato Dlamini (South Africa).
Dlamini holds a record of 21 wins (12 KOs) and 3 losses. The right-handed boxer has traveled to Japan twice to face Tomoki Kameda and successfully made his own comeback in his hometown last May. For Nakano (14-1-0, 13 KOs), this marks his second consecutive bout against a top-tier world-ranked opponent.
Fujita, currently on a 10-fight winning streak since his debut (5 KOs), will make the fifth defense of his WBO Asia Pacific title. He is set to face a challenge from No. 9-ranked Ryota Muto (9-1-1, 5 KOs). The bout will be a clash of southpaws.
The challenger, Muto, is a promising young fighter from the Chubu region who has previously captured the Rookie of the Year and Japanese Youth titles at super-bantamweight. For the champion Fujita, who has risen to No. 1 in the WBO world rankings, the objective is to convincingly repel the prospect and continue building his case for a world title shot.
