For weeks, there was uncertainty as to when the WBC minimumweight title fight between Wanheng Menayothin and Tatsuya Fukuhara would actually take place and now there's been yet another change in date.
The WBC announced that the title fight will now take place on April 24 in Chonburi, Thailand. No reason was given for the change in date, but it is not the first time the fight moved dates. The fight is a rematch from their 2017 encounter, which saw Menayothin retain the title with a unanimous decision (116-112, 118-110, 117-113) victory over Fukuhara.
Originally, the fight was booked for March 1, but for unspecified reasons, the fight kept changing dates with no real idea if the fight was actually happening in March. The last confirmed date for the fight was March 29, also in Chonburi.
Menayothin is the sport’s only active boxer to have won more than 50 consecutive fights. Menayothin is also one of boxing’s longest reigning champions, having held the WBC world title since 2014. Menayothin surpassed Floyd Mayweather's 50-0 record last year when he defeated Pedro Taduran, also in Thailand. The rematch against Fukuhara will be Menayothin's 11th world title defense.
Fukuhara, a former world champion at 105 points, previously held the WBO title but lost the belt to Ryuya Yamanaka in the summer of 2017, ending Fukuhara’s reign without a single successful title defense. The loss to Menayothin was Fukuhara’s second consecutive loss, but has since then bounced back with two straight victories in 2018.
