Sidney Boquiren of RingwalkNippon has the latest Japanese boxing news and notes.  For more updates, you can follow Sidney on twitter: RingwalkNippon@Twitter

Nishioka-Munroe set for Tokyo on October 24

While an overseas title defense had been considered, it looks like Toshiaki Nishioka will face WBC #1 contender Rendall Munroe in Tokyo after all. Yomiuri Shimbun reports that the Super Bantamweight champ will attempt to protect his green belt for the fifth time on October 24 at the Kokugikan.

The undercard for the event looks great at this point even though we only have details on the A-sides. Teiken may have had concerns about filling the venue as it seats more than 11,000, and has set up a nice show even if opponents turn out to be subpar.

In addition to Nishioka in the main event, Jorge Linares will make a quick return to the ring given that he makes it through the weekend with minimal damage. The former two-division titleholder faces Rocky Juarez on Saturday’s HBO PPV.

WBA Minimumweight strapholder Roman Gonzalez will make his fifth appearance in the land of the rising sun. The undefeated Nicaraguan has had good success in Japan, including his title-winning effort against Yutaka Niida in 2008 and most recently a wide points decision over former champ Katsunari Takayama last summer.

Finally, national 140lb champ Yoshihiro Kamegai gets his first bout outside of Korakuen Hall, stepping up to his biggest stage yet. As the talented 27-year old has quickly outgrown domestic competition, hopefully Teiken will match him with a decent opponent from abroad. Someone along the likes of Thai veteran Prawet Singwancha might be a good test for Kamegai.

More Boxing Notes

• Light Flyweight prospect Kazuto Ioka, fresh off his stoppage victory last weekend, will be departing for Miami next month where he will go under the tutelage of trainer Ismael Salas. The Cuban has worked with champions such as Yuriorkis Gamboa and Danny Green. Ioka has actively sought outside instruction, as he did before his fight with Alcoy by holding camp in Panama. The youngster hopes to take on WBC titleholder Omar Nino within the year and could use as much experience as he can with foreign competition.
• Ratings for Sunday’s broadcast featuring the Kameda brothers and Ioka were dismal.  Granted it occupied an odd time frame (3PM – 5PM), but a 5.7% rating in Kanto (Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures) is just poor. The show did a bit better in Kansai (Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, etc) at 7.0%. Max ratings were 7.4% and 10.0% for the two areas.
• Kohei Kono, who gave Nobuo Nashiro all kinds of trouble in their 2008 bout, has vacated his OPBF 115lb crown in order to pursue a world title fight. The Ring Magazine rated #7 Super Flyweight is currently ranked #1 by the WBC and #3 by the WBA. Plans have not been announced, but as Vic Darchinyan and Nonito Donaire are the champs of those organizations for the weight, Kono might be up for a chance at a vacant title in the near future.
• OPBF Super Featherweight beltholder Koji Kawamura’s reign came to an abrupt end as he has vacated the title and retired due to a detached retina. The 28-year old had the chance to follow Takashi Uchiyama’s lead and was given first dibs on the regional title that his gymmate had vacated in order to fight Salgado in January. Kawamura stopped Korea’s Sung-Tae Kim for the belt but never defended it. He ends his career with an 18-2-1 (6KO) record.

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