The WBC bantamweight title rematch between champion Luis Nery and Shinsuke Yamanaka has an official date and venue.
The rematch will take place on March 1 at the Ryogoku Sumo Arena in Tokyo as the event's main event, according to Teiken Promotions, who held a news conference to announce the fight.
Nery and Yamanaka fought this past August when Nery captured WBC gold by stopping Yamanaka inside four rounds. Unfortunately for Nery, days after the fight, the WBC announced that the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) had detected the substance zilpaterol in Nery's drug test.
Zilpaterol is a substance similar to clenbuterol that could have been acquired by Nery by way of consuming contaminated meat as has happened in previous cases - such as Erik Morales and Francisco Vargas. In a ruling a few months ago, the WBC announced that not only is Nery still considered the world champion, but then he must fight Yamanaka in an immediate rematch. If and when the rematch takes place, the governing body would in fact have a more watchful eye on Nery to make sure Nery doesn't have similar diet issues as with the first fight.
Nery recently fought in November against Arthur Villanueva in a non-title bout while the WBC deliberated on their decision regarding the failed drug test. There is only one other fight confirmed for the March 1 is Ryosuke Iwasa defending his IBF super bantamweight title against Ernesto Saulong. This would be Iwasa's first defense of the title since winning it from Yukinori Oguni last year.