Yoshiki Takei loved his title win in each approach however one.
The absence of a knockout left the reigning WBO bantamweight titleholder simply shy of absolutely content material. The unbeaten Yokohama native hopes to renew that run, even in opposition to longtime pal and former flyweight titlist Daigo Higa.
Their scheduled 12-round bout takes place Tuesday at Ariake Area in Tokyo, Japan. Takei-Higa is the chief assist to the Naoya Inoue-TJ Doheny RING/undisputed 122-pound championship. Each bouts air reside on ESPN+ starting at 5:45 a.m. ET.
Takei (9-0, 8 knockouts) makes an attempt the primary protection of the title he claimed in a choice win over Australia’s Jason Moloney. Their Could 6 bout noticed Takei survive a near-disastrous twelfth spherical to win by scores of 116-111, 117-110 and 116-111. It marked the primary distance struggle of his younger profession.
“That struggle in Could, I gained however I wasn’t capable of get the knockout. Sorry, Daigo, nevertheless it’s approaching Tuesday,” Takei vowed in the course of the closing pre-fight press convention. “I can’t predict the precise ending of the struggle. I plan to struggle from my most well-liked distance and land the kind of punches that trigger him to fall.”
Takei solely had two fights prolong past the third spherical previous to his first profession title bid. His longest bout to that time was an eleventh spherical stoppage of Bruno Tarimo in Dec. 2022.
Higa (21-2-1, 19 KOs) has solely suffered one profession stoppage defeat. It got here on an evening when he miserably missed weight and noticed his title reign come to an finish. Nicaragua’s Cristofer Rosales reaped the advantages in an April 2018 ninth-round knockout to win the WBC flyweight title.
The one different defeat for Higa, 29, was an April 2021 factors loss to Ryosuke Nishida (9-0, 1 KO), now the IBF bantamweight titlist. He enters this bout having gained his previous 4 begins, together with back-to-back fourth-round knockout wins in 2023.
Each fighters have been cordial within the presence of the opposite. The one distinction, nevertheless, is that the defending title refused to purchase into the pleasant act.
“That is the primary time we’ve met head to head because the struggle was introduced,” famous Takei. “He’s smiling as at all times. I’m making an attempt my hardest to not be fooled by it. I need to be in management and win this struggle decisively.”
