A signing ceremony for the Apr. 24 World Boxing Council light flyweight title match at EDION Arena Osaka between undefeated champion Kenshiro Teraji of BMB Boxing Gym and No. 1-ranked Tetsuya Hisada of Harada Boxing Gyma took place in Osaka on Apr. 22.

While the 29-year-old Teraji, popularly known as Kenshiro, and the 36-year-old Hisada expressed their confidence in the fight at the days joint press conference, the situation surrounding the fight is ticklish because the central government is poised to declare a COVID-19 state of emergency in Osaka and other prefectures.

Masato Yamashita, a promoter of the fight and head of Shinsei Boxing Gym, said, ‘’We will go ahead with the event unless EDION Area is closed. It is up to the government’s judgement. If the government orders the event must be held behind closed doors, we will do it behind closed doors. The bottom line is not to put off the event any further considering the participating boxers’ effort. We will do everything we can to realize the event.’’

Kenshiro, who is making his eighth defense of the title he won in May 2017, said ‘’If I can fight my usual fight, I don’t think there would be any problem. I will deal with the fight without being impatient. I am determined to put up a strong fight that my fans don’t need to let out their voice.’’ Fans are not allowed to let out their voice to prevent possible droplet infection of the COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the 36-year-old Hisada, who is making his second crack at a world title, told reporters, ‘’I will not let the champion move like usual. If I win the world title, I can become the oldest boxer to achieve the feat. I will show a man aged 36 can fight and win the title.’’ The Japanese record of 35 years and nine months is held by former three-division world champion Hozumi Hasegawa of Shinsei gym.

Both boxers passed the customary routine prefight medical examinations with flying colors.　They also went through PCR tests and proved negative.

Kenshiro has 17 straight wins, including 10 knockouts, whereas Hisada, whose exact age is 36 years and five months, has a 34-10-2 win-loss-draw tally with 20 KOs.

The fight was initially planned to take place on Dec. 19 last year but was postponed due to Teraji’s misconduct of damaging a parked car on the premises of another person in a state of inebriation after drinking alcohol at a drinking establishment in Tokyo last July.

The Japan Boxing Commission imposed a three-month suspension of his boxer’s license effective on Dec. 1 in addition to a 3 million yen (about $29,000) financial penalty and 48-200 hours of social engagement activities for his misconduct within the six months.