Toyoshima and Sakai make weight for OPBF title fight
Tomorrow at Korakuen Hall we'll see OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight champion Ryota Toyoshima (14-2-1, 9) [豊嶋亮太] defending his OPBF title against the teak tough Shoki Sakai (25-12-2, 12) [坂井 祥記], a rare "re-imported" boxer. The match up will headline the December edition of Dynamic Glove and promises to be a very TV friendly fight for viewers of G+.
Today, ahead of their bout, the two men took part in their weigh in for the contest and both men made the 147lb limit with no issues at all.
The champion was well under the limit, hitting the scales at 146.5lbs and he looked shredded, in arguably the best condition of his career. He not only looked in great shape, and incredibly serious, but he was also full of confidence and seemed happy to be taking on someone as tough and rugged as Sakai.
Toyoshima has had a great year so far, beating Riku Nagahama and Yuki Beppu to win and unify the OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific titles, and he'll know that a win over Sakai would further boost his standing in the sport and take one step closer to a potential world title fight. Notably he spoke about wanting to stop Sakai, who has been a notoriously tough and stubborn opponent, who hasn't been stopped in his previous 39 bouts.
As for Sakai, who was bang on the 147lb limit, he spoke about wanting to win to become more well known among Japanese fans. It's worth noting that his career, for the most part, was spent fighting in the West and this is only his fourth bout in Japan, a country he hadn't fought in until last year. This will also mark his second title fight in the country, following a hotly contested loss to Keita Obara for the Japanese title back in April. He explained that he wants to win and return to a Mexican ring, which is where he has built much of his career.
For fans wanting to watch the bout it will be aired live on G+ tomorrow.
Related - Toyoshima defends OPBF title against tough guy Sakai!
Today, ahead of their bout, the two men took part in their weigh in for the contest and both men made the 147lb limit with no issues at all.
The champion was well under the limit, hitting the scales at 146.5lbs and he looked shredded, in arguably the best condition of his career. He not only looked in great shape, and incredibly serious, but he was also full of confidence and seemed happy to be taking on someone as tough and rugged as Sakai.
Toyoshima has had a great year so far, beating Riku Nagahama and Yuki Beppu to win and unify the OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific titles, and he'll know that a win over Sakai would further boost his standing in the sport and take one step closer to a potential world title fight. Notably he spoke about wanting to stop Sakai, who has been a notoriously tough and stubborn opponent, who hasn't been stopped in his previous 39 bouts.
As for Sakai, who was bang on the 147lb limit, he spoke about wanting to win to become more well known among Japanese fans. It's worth noting that his career, for the most part, was spent fighting in the West and this is only his fourth bout in Japan, a country he hadn't fought in until last year. This will also mark his second title fight in the country, following a hotly contested loss to Keita Obara for the Japanese title back in April. He explained that he wants to win and return to a Mexican ring, which is where he has built much of his career.
For fans wanting to watch the bout it will be aired live on G+ tomorrow.
Related - Toyoshima defends OPBF title against tough guy Sakai!