On the 28th, a press conference was held at a hotel in Yokohama to announce the “NTT Docomo Presents LeminoBOXING Double World Title Match.” The event will take place on Wednesday, September 2, at Yokohama BUNTAI and will be streamed live on Lemino.
２戦目に臨むキングこと藤木 Naoki Fukuda
Also on this day, Yuga Fujiki (Ohashi)—a promising prospect who won his professional debut in June—will make his second professional appearance. This time, he’ll face Jufel Salina of the Philippines in an 8-round bout at 61 kg.
Fujiki, who stopped Wira Mikam (Thailand) in the second round in his professional debut, says, “I’m still not satisfied with that performance.” Both he and his trainer, Seiichi Okada, describe Salina (11 wins, 8 KOs, 7 losses, 1 draw), a southpaw, as “aggressive and a hard hitter.” It will be interesting to see how Fujiki handles a left-handed opponent.
“Right now, I’m focusing on getting used to the professional level,” Fujiki said, and he appears to be progressing smoothly in his sparring sessions. He is reportedly sparring with senior fighters such as OPBF Lightweight Champion Taiga Imanaga and Reito Takahashi (Punch Out). To make matches against Japan’s top fighters a reality, the rising star stated, “I’ll keep training with the goal of getting closer to the title belt.”
■ Another Exciting Match: Nakajima vs. Daivan for the OPBF Featherweight Title
Also on the same card, the OPBF Featherweight Title bout between Kazuki Nakajima (Ohashi) and Ryuto Daivan (Shisei) will take place. With both fighters known for their power and offensive prowess, this promises to be an exciting matchup. Nakajima, who had been aiming for the world title in the super bantamweight division, will relinquish his OPBF title in that weight class to move up one weight class. According to Chairman Ohashi, this move was made with Nakajima’s weight-cutting challenges in mind.
A title match is also scheduled, in which Japanese minimumweight champion Katsuki Mori (Ohashi) will face challenger Yoshi Sugiura (Kyoei). This will be Mori’s second title defense.
