Magramo vs Nakatani For Vacant WBO Fly Title Set Aug 21 in Tokyo
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 22 Jun 2020
The Giemel Magramo versus Junto Nakatani fight for the vacant World Boxing Organization flyweight championship will be finally held on August 21, 2020 at the Korakuen Boxing Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
The bout will come nearly one month after Japan officially reopens boxing on July 22 with a 12 round bout between Ryosuke Sawada and Yusuke Suzuki for the Japanese national bantamweight title at the same venue.
It will be the first of a number of world boxing championships the Japan Boxing Commission in partnership with the Japan Professional Boxing Association and the various television networks hopes to organize to bring back the fightsport to its local as well as international fans and viewers.
Significantly, Japan is the only country in Asia with coverage and service contract with the fast getting popular DAZN and most likely many of boxing bouts there will be made available to international fans through its streaming platforms.
Magramo and Nakatani will be the first from their respective countries to figure in a world boxing title fight after the still raging Covid 19 pandemic put a halt to international boxing and sports in general, among many other human activities since the first quarter of 2020.
However, Giemel will already be the fifth Filipino to be featured in boxing events abroad after Mike Plania made a successful return by a Pinoy fighter in the foreign ring by beating American top ranking bantamweight contender Joshua Greer, Jr in Las Vegas, Nevada recently.
Three other Filipino boxers are scheduled to see action in the USA next month, namely fast rising FilAm featherweight fighter John Leo Dato, former WBA interim bantamweight champion Reymart Gaballo and comebacking super featherweight John Vincent Moralde.
Dato is set to headline in a July 10 boxing promotion in Sta Ynez, California opposite a still to be announced opponent while Gaballo and Moralde will figure in a fight card set July 17 in Miami, Florida versus Hungarians Szilvester Ajtai and David Berna, respectively.
The return of boxing in the USA, Mexico and soon, Japan augurs well for three other prominent Filipino fighters namely Johnriel Casimero, Jerwin Ancajas and Nonito Donaire who have pending world title bouts set in the States.
Ancajas is set to defend his IBF super flyweight title against a Mexican challenger, Casimero is fighting Japanese Naoya Inoue in a prestigious WBA-WBO-IBF and Ring lineal world bantamweight titles unification while Donaire is slated to challenge for the WBC bantamweight belt against Nordine Oubaali of France.
Another Pinoy fighter Mark John Rementizo is supposed to challenge WBC minimumweight champion Wanheng Menayothin. But with the latest news of Menayothin retiring from boxing, that could be good as off. Unless the WBC names him as one of the two contenders to fight for the soon to be vacant title.
Menayothin shocked his local fans when he took to social media yesterday to announce his retirement from boxing with a record of 54-0, 18 by knockout.
Menayothin, who is 34-years-old, made his professional debut in 2007.
The boxer was promoted in the United States by Golden Boy Promotions. He was scheduled to make his U.S. debut for the promotional company earlier this year as part of a show in Los Angeles, but the event was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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