Japanese boxer Kosei Tanaka 19-1 (11) will aim to become a four-weight world champion when he clashes with Mexico’s Christian ‘Rocky’ Bacasegua 22-4-2 (9) for the vacant WBO super flyweight title at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan on February 24.
It will be the 28-year-old Tanaka’s second shot at the WBO 115-pound belt after previously falling short again Kazuto Ioka 31-2-1 (16) at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo on New Years’ Eve 2020, losing by eighth-round stoppage.
Tanaka, who has previously held the WBO title at minimumweight, junior flyweight and flyweight, has rebounded with four straight wins as he sets his sights on becoming world champion once again.
“It would be best if I could get a KO,” Tanaka said to The Japan Times from his gym in Nagoya on Monday. “I don’t want to win in an anticlimactic showing.”
Bacasegua is a seasoned professional who promises to test Tanaka at every turn. Ranked number two by the WBO behind only Tanaka, the 26-year-old is riding a nine fight win streak dating back to 2019.
“The important thing is to prevent an opponent who comes forward from hitting me,” Tanaka said of his opponent.
Tanaka still holds out hope of a rematch against his sole conqueror Ioka, with the 34-year-old currently reigning as the WBA super flyweight champion.
“I want to win (the upcoming bout) overwhelmingly and go to the next stage,” said Tanaka, who became the WBO 105-pound champion in May 2015, the WBO 108-pound champion in December 2016 and the WBO 112-pound flyweight champion in September 2018.
Veteran Ioka seems keen on a rematch with Tanaka too, providing he has a world title. As he closes in on the twilight of his career, Ioka has repeatedly said he wants to unfiy the division.
Protracted negotiations with WBC champion Juan Francisco Estrada 44-3 (28) of Mexico last year eventually fell through, leaving Ioka to face the outclassed Josber Perez 20-4 (18) on New Years’ Eve instead.
The other option would be a bout against IBF titleholder Fernando Martinez 16-0 (9) of Argentina, but a rematch with Tanaka would seem the easiest fight to make.
Tanaka recently returned from Cebu in the Philippines where he spent three weeks of his training camp for Bacasegua sparring undefeated local prospects Reymart Tagacanao 7-0 (6) and Alex Santisima 8-0 (2) at the ZIP Sanman Boxing gym in Banawa, Barangay Guadalupe.
Last year Tanaka trained for his tune-up bout against Pablo Carrillo at the Omega Boxing Gym in Cebu too.
The 24-year-old Tagacanao, who has previously sparred with former world champions Donnie Nietes, Milan Melindo and Melvin Jerusalem, took a lot out of the experience.
“This is good for Makoy (Tagacanao), that he experiences sparring with a three-division world champion. This will give him a lot of self confidence,” Tagacanao’s coach Edito Villamor told SunStar Cebu.
