Moruti Mthalane's next world title defense is set and it is taking place in Japan.
Mthalane, the IBF flyweight champion, will defend his title against Masayuki Kuroda on May 13 at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall. The news comes nearly about a month-and-a-half after the fight was ordered by the governing body.
Mthalane, who has not lost a fight since a TKO loss to Nonito Donaire in 2008, successfully retained his title on December 31 in Macau, China where he stopped Masahiro Sakamoto in the 10th round. That fight was on the undercard of Donnie Nietes' WBO super flyweight title win over Kazuto Ioka. It was Mthalane's first successful title defense since winning the belt back in July 2018 with a close decision against Muhammad Waseem.
Prior to this current reign, Mthalane previously held the belt nearly a decade ago and then held the IBO from 2014 to 2017. The South African champion is currently ranked No. 6 in Fightful's Boxing rankings at flyweight.
Kuroda, ranked No. 4 at 112 pounds by the IBF, has been fighting professionally since 2005, winning the Japanese light flyweight and flyweight titles. The 32-year-old Kuroda once challenged for the WBA flyweight title, losing a 12-round decision to Juan Carlos Reveco in 2013. Kuroda is also ranked No. 3 by the WBO, whose champion is Kosei Tanaka.
