By Miguel Rivera

WBA "regular" bantamweight champion Koki Kameda (27-1, 17KOs) is looking forward to a potential showdown with the number-one ranked contender, Hugo "Cuatito" Ruiz. Kameda will first defend his title against Indonesian contender Norudi Manakane (24-10-1, 15KOs) on April 4th in Yokohama.

Ruiz (29-1, 26KOs), who is scheduled to fight on March 17th, became the interim-champion when he beat Alvaro Perez last January, and then made two big defenses against Francisco Arce to close out the year.

"I am eager to have the mandatory fight against Ruiz, and I even wanted to deal with him in April but we disagreed on the dates. This upcoming defense is just as important as Manakane, who is a very good fighter with a strong punch and lots of experience. I'm sure that if I beat Norudi, my next opponent will be Hugo," Kameda said.

As it stands, Kameda is preparing to travel to the Philippines where he plans to hold his training camp.