Boxing fans in the United States will get a rare Top Rank card from Japan, headlined by not one but two world title fights.
The card, set to be streamed on ESPN+ starting at 7 a.m. ET on July 12, will feature a rematch between Rob Brant and Ryota Murata for the WBA's secondary middleweight title. The two men faced each other back in October 2018 with Brant dominating Murata to become the new WBA titleholder and since then, Brant has made just one defense of the title, which was a late TKO win over Khasan Baysangurov in February. Murata, on the other hand, is looking to become a two-time champion with a win over Brant.
Also on the card is Japanese star Ken Shiro defending his WBC light flyweight title against Filipino contender Jonathan Taconing. Shiro will look make a sixth successful title defense, extending his reign as the division's current longest-reigning world champion. Taconing is on his third attempt at winning a world title after unsuccessfully challenging for a belt in 2012 and 2016. Since his latest defeat in a title fight, Taconing has won six straight fight.
All four fighters stepped into the scales for the weigh-ins and all four were able to make weight. Below are the official weights for the two world title fights on the July 12 Top Rank on ESPN+ card from the EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan:
WBA "Regular" middleweight title (160-pound limit):
- Rob Brant: 159.25 lbs
- Ryota Murata: 159.5 lbs
WBC light flyweight title (108-pound limit):
- Ken Shiro: 107.75 lbs
- Jonathan Taconing: 108 lbs