Another title fight in Japan has been affected because of the champion failing to make weight.
Daigo Higa, who sports one of boxing's best knockout streaks, has failed to make weight the day before his planned fight against Cristofer Rosales and has been stripped of the WBC flyweight title. Higa came in at 114 lbs., two pounds over the 112 flyweight limit, while Rosales weighed in at 111.4 pounds.
The fight between Higa and Rosales will move forward with only Rosales being eligible to win the title if he wins. Any other result in the fight would keep the title vacated. The fight will be the co-main event of the event taking place in Yokohama, headlined by the WBA "regular" middleweight title fight between Ryota Murata and Emanuele Felice Blandamura, which is televised live on ESPN2 on April 15 at 8 a.m. EST.
Japan has had issues when it comes to fighters missing weight in big title fights taking place inside the country. The Japanese Boxing Commission (JBC) have put plans in place to organize punishments for fighters missing weight with the JBC going forward and look to prevent a repeat of the issue. This comes after former WBC bantamweight champion Luis Nery came in massively overweight for his February rematch against Shinsuke Yamanaka and was stripped of the title. Other fights in recent weeks taking place in Japan have also been scrapped due to boxers missing weight.
Higa won the title last May when he knocked out Juan Hernandez Navarrete win the then-vacant title. Higa has made two title defenses, last defending his title against Moises Fuentes back in February.