Taniguchi and Mendez make weight for WBO world title bout
Tomorrow fight fans in Japan will be able to see local hopeful Masataka Taniguchi (14-3, 9) [谷口将隆] face off with WBO Minimumweight champion Wilfredo Mendez (16-1, 6), in what will be Taniguchi's second crack at a world title. Today, ahead of their bout, the two men took part in their weigh in, and both men made the 105lb limit for the bout with no issues at all.
At the weigh in the champion came in at 104.7lbs and despite having been out of the ring for almost 2 years, he looked in great shape. Notably he seemed incredibly confident at the weight in, and explained that he hadn't seen much footage of Taniguchi, but seemed to suggest that he was going to focus on his boxing, and was going to win by fighting his fight, rather than being dragged into Taniguchi's battle.
The challenger, who also looked in amazing condition, came in bang on the 105lb weight limit for the bout, and he looked in fantastic condition for what is, almost certainly, a must win bout for him. He spoke about Mendez, and explained that the champion was good at scoring points, and that he had analysed him. He also added that he was going to fight like challenger, and he seemed almost obsessed with scoring a win here. For him a loss, especially after previously losing a world title bout to Vic Saluda, would be very, very hard to bounce back from.
For fans wanting to watch this bout, it will only be available on Japanese PPV, Hikari and Abema both streaming the bout.
Related - Taniguchi gets second WBO title shot as he takes on Mendez
At the weigh in the champion came in at 104.7lbs and despite having been out of the ring for almost 2 years, he looked in great shape. Notably he seemed incredibly confident at the weight in, and explained that he hadn't seen much footage of Taniguchi, but seemed to suggest that he was going to focus on his boxing, and was going to win by fighting his fight, rather than being dragged into Taniguchi's battle.
The challenger, who also looked in amazing condition, came in bang on the 105lb weight limit for the bout, and he looked in fantastic condition for what is, almost certainly, a must win bout for him. He spoke about Mendez, and explained that the champion was good at scoring points, and that he had analysed him. He also added that he was going to fight like challenger, and he seemed almost obsessed with scoring a win here. For him a loss, especially after previously losing a world title bout to Vic Saluda, would be very, very hard to bounce back from.
For fans wanting to watch this bout, it will only be available on Japanese PPV, Hikari and Abema both streaming the bout.
Related - Taniguchi gets second WBO title shot as he takes on Mendez