WBC champion Yamanaka gets Japan’s boxer of the year award
>> TOKYO: Unbeaten WBC bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka has been named the 2016 boxer of the year by the Japan Boxing Committee.
Yamanaka,whoalsowontheannual award three years ago, is second only to former WBA light-flyweight champion Yoko Gushiken (13) in consecutive title defences after extending his record to 11 in September.
“I’m genuinely happy. It gave me momentum going into my next bout,” said Yamanaka, who has a 26-0 record with two draws and 18 knockouts and will face ninth-ranked Mexican Carlos Carlson on March 2.
Yamanaka’s 11th title defence, his technical knockout against Panamanian Anselmo Moreno was named world bout of the year by the JBC, with the 34-year-old Yamanaka also winning the KO Award.
The technique prize went to WBO world super-flyweight champ Naoya Inoue after he won three world title bouts to maintain his perfect record, which now stands at 12-0 with 10 KOS.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Shun Kubo will take on Venezuelan champion Nehomar Cermeno for the WBA super-bantamweight title, his Shinsei Gym announced on Friday.
The 26-year-old Kubo, ranked ninth, will be taking his first crack at a world title in the bout at Osaka’s Edion Arena on April 9.
“I have to go into the bout with the same mental approach as always and just try and win,” Kubo told a press conference in Kobe.
Kubo, who retained his OrientalPacific title in November, is unbeaten in 11 bouts. The 37-year-old Cermeno has a record of 26 wins (15KOs), five losses and one draw.
Hopes are being pinned on Kubo following in the footsteps of stablemate Hozumi Hasegawa, a former world champion in three different weight divisions who retired in December.
Hoping to respond to expectations with a win, Kubo said, “I have been given all kinds of advice.”