Former World Boxing Organization minimumweight champion Ryuya Yamanaka of Shinsei Boxing Gym, who had to hang up his gloves in 2018 due to subdural hematoma, is likely to return to the ring as the Japan Boxing Commission is expected to revise its relevant regulations, informed sources said on Dec. 12.

According to the sources, the boxer’s license of the 26-year-old Yamanaka can be resurrected since he has cleared the magnetic resonance image and the relevant tests vis-à-vis intracranial hematoma.

Yamanaka had 16 wins, including five knockouts, against three losses, before his retirement in 2018. He won the title by decisioning Tatsuya Fukuhara of Honda Fitness Gym in August 2017 and successfully defended his title once in March 2018. He lost the title four months later to Vic Saludar of the Philippines, his last match so far.