Shinsuke Yamanaka will retire from boxing if he is denied a rematch with WBC bantamweight champion Luis Nery, the man who took his title, the Japanese fighter's promoters have said.
Nery scored a fourth round technical knockout in their Aug. 15 Tokyo bout but the Mexican, who has a 24-0 record including 18 knockouts, is under investigation by the WBC after an out-of-competition sample tested positive for a banned substance.
"There is no way (for Yamanaka to continue his career) unless a rematch is called. The fight means that much," Yamanaka's Teiken Gym president Akihiko Honda was quoted as saying by the Kyodo News.
Yamanaka, who has a 27-1-2 record including 19 knockouts, would not fight another opponent for the belt even if Nery was stripped of the title, Honda said, adding he expected to hear the WBC's findings in the next two to three weeks.
The 34-year-old Yamanaka made 12 successful defences of his title until he lost it to Nery.
IN OTHER NEWS: On the eve of his highly anticipated bout with undefeated Andrew Tabiti on Saturday's Floyd Mayweather - Conor McGregor Pay-Per-View card in Las Vegas, two-time cruiserweight world champion, Steve "USS" Cunningham has announced that he will be releasing a series of comic books this Fall.
Cunningham of Philadelphia will combine his love of comics and his decorated boxing career into an entertaining comic book series that will also feature many of the opponents and personalities of his illustrious 17 year career.
The first strip will feature a fictional depiction of his epic battle with Amir "Hardcore" Mansour that took place in 2014. Below is a brief video with some of the illustrations that will be featured in the inaugural book.
"Drawing has always been a passion of mine, and people who are artists are inspired from their life experiences. I have been fortunate to be able to participate in the highest form of theater in professional sports, and that is boxing at the highest level. I have so many thoughts and ideas from those experiences and I hope to entertain not only boxing fans, but comic lovers from all over the world," said Cunningham.
