By Hisao Adachi

Next Saturday on June 4 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, the mecca of Japanese boxing since 1962 with a capacity of just over two thousand spectators, will be the venue for the next promotion of the Teiken Boxing Gym, which is going to be transmitted on Tokyo TV as the 491st edition of Dynamic Glove. 

 

In the main event bout, set for 10 rounds for Japan's flyweight championship, between the champion - #3 WBC, #4 WBA world ranked former Olympian Toshiyuki Igarashi (13-1-1, 10KOs (27 years old and Teike Boxing Gym in Tokyo) - and former champion and former world ranked Kenji Yoshida (17-9-1, 5KOs, 34 years old and Watanabe Boxing Gym in Tokyo). It will be the first defense for Igarashi, who won the title last February when he beat stopped then world ranked Takayasu Kobayashi in three rounds at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

 

In the co-feature, also set for 10 rounds, unbeaten #12 WBC, #13 WBA world ranked welterweight Yoshihiro "Professor" Kamegai (17-0, 15KOs, 28 years old and Teiken Boxing Gym in Tokyo) will clash with Filipino Joel De La Cruz (12-10-1, 6KOs).

 

Kamegai returns to complete the commitment of making the second defense of title, which was originally scheduled for February 5, 2011. Kamegai was suspended five days before for the fight because he suddenly fell ill. The last fight with Kamegai took place in October 2010 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, where he scored a valuable victory with a sixth round KO at the expense of the Nicaraguan former lightweight world champion Jose Alfaro.

 

Kamegai Yoshihiro goes under the nickname of the "Professor". He began using his nickname to pay tribute to former world champion Mexican Jose Luis "Professor" Lopez.

Everyone is eager for the main event bout, in order to see the efforts of former Olympian and world ranked Toshiyuki Igarashi, who is married with a son and motivated and excited as ever to go fight for a world title in the not too distant future under the support of the influential Japanese promoter Akihiko Honda, who is head of Teiken Boxing Gym in Tokyo, which dates back to 1926 when it was founded under the direction of Sadayuki Ogino (called the "Mother of Japanese boxing for his great contribution to the development of boxing in Japan).

Teiken is one of the most genuine traditional boxing gyms in Japan, which has about 90 calendar years in the history of the true boxing Nipon from Yujiro Watanabe (called the "Father of Boxing Japanese"). Nippon established Kentoh Club (the first genuine boxing gym in Japan) in Tokyo on December 25, 1921. The date of December 25 is considered by the Japan Boxing Commission and Professional Boxing Association of Japan as the holy day (birthday) for Japanese boxing.

 

Teiken Boxing Gym in Tokyo boasts three world champions with Takahiro Aoh at super featherweight, WBC junior featherweight Toshiaki Nishioka, and the WBA junior featherweight Akifumi Shimoda.

As an amateur, Igarashi was delegated to the Athens Olympics in 2004 but didn't win a medal. After graduating from Tokyo University of Agriculture, Igarashi made professional boxing debut in 2006 in a fight 6 rounds after having had 77 wins (16KOs), 18 losses in amateur boxing as an amateur Japanese champion. In 2004, Toshiyuki Igarashi was chosen as the Best Amateur Boxer of the Year in Japan.

 

Igarashi is the twentieth Japanese fighter that has made the leap to professionalism as a former Olympian.  Igarashi, now follows six consecutive wins to since suffering his only loss to Tomonobu Shimizu.

 

In July 2010 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Igarashi scored a victory by knockout in the very first round over former world title challenger Rexon Flores (20-8-4, 9KOs, 28 years old), who lost by decision WBO champ Omar Narvaez. Igarashi has two wins against two tough Mexican boxers. In March 2010 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, he won by TKO in the sixth round against Abel Ochoa and in November 2010 he won over Mexico's Armando Santos decision in a fight held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Let's see if Igarashi be able to go to contest the world title in 2011.