By Anson Wainwright
Earlier today BoxingScene.com was advised by sources out of Japan that Katsunari Takayama, the IBF strawweight champion, and Francisco Rodriguez Jr., the WBO 105-pound boss, will meet on August 9 in Monterrey, Mexico.
The intriguing looking fight pits the 31-year old boxer Takayama 27-6, 10 stoppages with 1 No-Contest versus the heavy handed 21-year old Rodriguez 14-2 with 10 knockouts.
Editor's Note: The August 9 headliner marks just the fifth title unification bout in the history of the strawweight division. Kazuto Ioka defeated Akira Yaegashi (now the lineal flyweight king) in 2012, the first time two reigning titlists from Japan met in a unification fight. The other three occasions all involved Ricardo Lopez in the 1990's (TKO5 Alex 'Nene' Sanchez in 1997; a technical draw with Rosendo Alvarez in 1998 and then a split decision win over Alvarez in their rematch later that year). – JD
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