By Jake Donovan

Francisco Rodriguez Jr. and Katsunari Takayama both came in right at the 105 lb. strawweight limit for their two-belt unification bout Saturday evening in Monterrey, Mexico. 

The bout will air live on TV Azteca in Mexico and beIN Español in the United States.

Takayama (27-6, 10KOs) hits the road again following a brief two-fight stay at home. The defending IBF titlist from Japan won the crown last October, scoring a 12-round decision over Mario Rodriguez in Mexico to score the belt on his third try. Two title defenses have followed, both coming in Japan.

Rodriguez Jr. (14-2, 10KOs) rose to title status in emphatic fashion, sending Philippines' Merlito Sabillo home beltless and with his first loss in scoring a 10th round knockout this past March. The 21-year old has scored three straight wins since suffering a 7th round stoppage at the lethal hands of Roman Gonzalez in a flyweight bout last September. 

Saturday's affair marks just the 5th scheduled title unification bout in the history of the strawweight division. The most recent came two years ago, when Kazuto Ioka scored a split decision win over Akira Yaegashi in their June '12 thriller, the first time in history that two titlists from Japan met in a unfication bout of any kind. 

The division's other unification bouts have all involved Ricardo Lopez, regarded by many as the greatest strawweight in boxing history. 

In the televised co-feature, Tomas Rojas faces Irving Berry in a 10-round featherweight affair. Both fighters came in at the contracted limit of 127 lb. 

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox