WBC light flyweight champion and Japanese star Ken Shiro will get to defend his title this summer in Osaka.
At a press conference in Japan, Shiro announced that he will face Jonathan Taconing on July 12 at the Edion Arena. The fight is the second world title bout taking place on the card, which will be broadcast on an ESPN platform in the United States.
Shiro is fighting in his 16th pro bout, but will be fighting his seventh world title fight. He won the title in 2017 when he won a majority decision against Ganigan Lopez. Since then, Shiro has successfully defended his title against Lopez in a rematch, Pedro Guevara, Gilberto Pedroza, Milan Melindo and Saul Juarez last December in his most recent fight. The 27-year-old Shiro has won three of his last four fights from inside the distance.
This will be Taconing?s third attempt at winning the WBC light flyweight title. His last attempt was in 2016 when he lost a lopsided decision against Lopez in Mexico. After losing to Lopez, Taconing won his last six fights with four of those wins coming by knockout and captured the WBC International title during that span. Taconing is currently ranked No. 1 by the WBC at 108 pounds.
The card will be headlined by the WBA ?Regular? middleweight title fight between Rob Brant and Ryota Murata. The fight is a rematch from their October 2018 bout in Las Vegas where Brant scored an upset win over Murata by unanimous decision.