Seasoned veteran Katsunari Takayama, who returned to the professional world from amateur boxing after failing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, will have a six-round bout with International Boxing Federation’s fourth-ranked light flyweight Reiya Konishi on Nov. 23 in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan.

The 37-year-old Takayama, who had captured the world minimumweight titles of all the four existing sanctioning bodies during his first pro career, will have the first professional fight in four years.

He said, ‘’Given my age, I want to reach the stage where I desire as early as possible. Since only a limited number of people can fight in this novel coronavirus pandemic situation, I will show everything I have in the upcoming fight.’’

Takayama has a professional record of 31 wins, including 12 knockouts, against eight losses and one no-contest. He had a win and a loss as an amateur boxer last year. For his part. The 27-year-old Konishi, who twice failed to capture world titles, has a 17-2 win-loss record with seven knockouts.

The bout, staged at the Sanda City Sogo Cultural Center in the prefecture’s Sanda, will be held as one of the undercards of former Oriental-Pacific Boxing Federation minimumweight interim ruler Riku Kano’s fight with Ryoki Hirai for the vacant World Boxing Organization’s Asia Pacific light flyweight crown.