July 19, 2009
TOKYO, JAPAN
WBA#13 Takehiro Shimada (23-4-1, 16 KOs), a 37-year-old Japanese veteran, left for Namibia today (Sunday) to have an ambitious crack at the WBA lightweight belt against unbeaten newly crowned WBA champ Paulus Moses (24-0, 17 KOs) in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, on this coming Saturday. Shimada is accompanied by his manager/promoter Kenji Yonekura (two-time world challenger to Pascual Perez and Jose Becerra) and his trainer and three-time world champ Kuniaki Shibata (conqueror of Vicente Saldivar, Ben Villaflor and Rene Arredondo). They will arrive in Windhoek at 10:45 am tomorrow via Johannesburg. It will be the Namibian national hero Mosesf initial defense since he impressively dethroned Japanfs Yusuke Kobori by a unanimous verdict in Tokyo this January.
(7-19-09)