Takanori Hatakeyama, Japanfs WBA lightweight champ, has been strenuously training at LA Boxing Gym, Los Angeles, in preparation for his mandatory defense against Julian Lorcy, France, in Saitama, Japan, on July 1.
The 25-year-old champ, making his third defense, dethroned Venezuelan Gilberto Serrano by an 8th round KO in his first bout after a one-year inactivity in June of the previous year. Hatakeyama, 24-1-3, 19 KOs, kept his title twice by beating compatriot Hiroyuki Sakamoto (KO10) and drawing with Rick Yoshimura Roberts.
Lorcy, ex-WBA champ, is a 29-year-old ex-Olympian who once seized the belt by stopping Jean Baptist Mendy in 6 rounds but yielded it to Stefano Zoff on points, both in 1999. The Frenchman won 7 straight since.
It will be a furious affair as they will certainly swap hot rallies from the outset. It is also the very first that a Japanese and a Frenchman fight for a world title.
Hatakeyama will train in LA until June 10 under the tutelage of Californian trainer Rudy Hernandez, the elder brother of ex-WBA & WBC 130-pound champ Genaro Chicanito Hernandez.
Hayato Asai, a Japanese prospect, will have an ambitious shot at the WBC 112-pound belt against newly crowned Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, Thailand, in Nagoya on July 15.
Asai, 16-2-2, 12 KOs, beat world-rated Mexican Gabriel Mira on points last December to enter the WBCfs top ten. Pongsaklek, 39-2, 23 KOs, captured the WBC title from Filipino southpaw Malcolm Tunacao by a stunning first round stoppage, dropping him three times with his opening attack in Thailand this March 2.
Asai previously failed to win a national flyweight title as he succumbed to Celes Kobayashi, the current WBA 115-pound champ, via 7th round KO in April of the previous year, but showed his improvement since. Asai will have a puncherfs chance despite his suspect chin.
Fast-rising Masamori Tokuyama, a North Korean residing in Japan, will face ex-champ and top contender Gerry Penalosa, a hard-punching southpaw of the Philippines, in a mandatory title defense in September.
Both parties are negotiating terms and conditions at the final stage, so the fight date and place will be decided soon.
Tokuyama, 24-2-1, 6 KOs, kept his WBC belt by a very impressive 5th round KO of former champ Injoo Cho in Seoul, Korea, on May 20. Though the champ sustained a right hand injury during this bout, he will recover and square off against Penalosa, 43-3-1, 26 KOs, who annihilated Japanfs ex-WBA 108-pound champ Keiji Yamaguchi with a first round demolition in a tune-up bout in Manila on May 5.
It will be a very interesting fight between the fast-handed champ and the hard-hitting challenger.