As revealed over the weekend, IBF flyweight champion Masamichi Yabuki will face mandatory challenger Felix Alvarado on November 22nd in Hermosillo, Mexico.
MP Promotions won the purse bid last month with
a truly putrid $30,000 offer, which generally means all relevant parties agreed not to proceed, but it seems Yabuki (18-4, 17 KO) was willing to face one of the division’s scarier contenders for the boxing equivalent of bus fare.
Does mean we’re seeing a Filipino promotion pit a Japanese champion against a Nicaraguan challenger in Mexico, which sounds like the setup for some sort of money laundering scheme.
Alvarado (42-4, 35 KO) edged out undefeated Tobias Reyes in an eliminator last December to earn a shot at revenge against Angel Ayala Lardizabal, but stepped aside to let fellow former light flyweight champion Yabuki take a swing. He’s long in the tooth for the division at 36, but remains a powerful and durable slugger who should produce absolute fireworks with Yabuki.
The show will reportedly also feature a recently ordered IBF light flyweight eliminator between Hermosillo’s own Sergio Mendoza Cordova (26-0, 22 KO) and South African IBO titlist Mpumelelo Tshabalala (11-1, 5 KO). Thanongsak Simsri currently holds the belt, which Yabuki vacated after beating Ayala, thanks to a June decision over Cristian Araneta.
