On October 16 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois, WBA World super flyweight champion Kohei Kono (30-8-1, 13 KOs), from Tokyo, Japan, will defend his title against former WBA World bantamweight champion Koki Kameda (33-1, 18 KOs), also from Tokyo, who is currently ranked #2 at super flyweight.

Kono’s promoter, Watanabe Promotions, announced that the champion, who sustained a rib injury which put the originally scheduled July 25 fight with Kameda on hold, has made a full recovery and is back in the gym.

The activity in Kameda Gym, by contrast, has been limited due to antagonism between the fighter, as well as his father and brothers, and the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC). As a result, the all-Japanese war will not be fought in the Land of the Rising Sun, but will be in the Windy City, now that Kameda is fighting for Premier Boxing Champions under the watchful eye of Al Haymon, who is in the process of revitalizing boxing in the United States.

At today’s press conference, Kameda told Kono, “Take good care of your belt until you fight me, because you cannot beat me.”

Them’s fighting words.

This article was penned by the author who is not related to the WBA and the statements, expressions or opinions referenced herein are that of the author alone and not the WBA.