Yasuda to defend regional title in July

Earlier today it was announced by Ohashi Gym that the once beaten Katsuya Yasuda (13-1, 8) [保田 克也] will make his third defense of the WBO Asia Pacific Lightweight title on July 9th, as he takes on Filipino challenger Presco Carcosia (12-3-1, 9) at Korakuen Hall.

The talented 32 year old champion won the belt in June 2023, when he defeated Apichet Petchmanee via a hard fought and close Unanimous decision, and has defended it against Korean challenger Min Ho Jun and fellow Japanese fighter Ruito Saeki. Although he’s unlikely to make a mark at the world stage, Yasuda is a highly skilled southpaw, who will be a really tough fighter to beat at regional level and we wouldn’t be surprised to see him looking to add the OPBF title to his collection in the near future.

As for Carcosia, the 28 year old Filipino is best known for his travels, though unfortunately he has lost in all 3 bouts outside of the Philippines. Those bouts have seen him lose in Australia to Jai Alexander, a loss in Japan to Musashi Mori, a loss and a loss to Albert Bell in the US.

Along with the main event, we also saw a very good looking chief support bout being announced as Toshiya Ishii (6-1-2, 4) [石井渡士也] is set to face former world title challenger Edward Heno (16-4-6, 6), in what will be a great match up between the power and aggression of Ishii and the skills and toughness of Heno. Notably Heno has been through a bad run recently, going 2-4-1 in his last 7, but he has mixed at a good level with losses to Elwin Soto, KJ Cataraja, Kenneth Llover and Songsaeng Phoyaem, all in very close bouts.