The IBF flyweight champion Angel Ayala (18-0 8 KOs) will travel to Tokoname, Japan, on March 29 to make the first defense of his title against the IBF light-flyweight titlist Masamichi Yabuki (17-4 16 KOs).
The unbeaten Mexican, 24, defeated Dave Apolinario via sixth-round knockout in August 2024 to win the title previously vacated by Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.
Yabuki, 32 and of Japan, became a two-time light-flyweight champion in October, when defeating Sivenathi Nontshinga via a ninth-round stoppage.
A win for Yabuki at the Aichi Sky Expo could even set up a trilogy with the WBC flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji, who he defeated via a 10th-round stoppage in September 2021 to win the WBC title at 108lbs before losing it in an immediate rematch six months later
Teraji fights Seigo Yuri Akui in a WBA and WBC flyweight unification bout on March 13.
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