By Edward Chaykovsky

WBC featherweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa is ready for a war. He defends the title against mandatory challenger, and former champion Jhonny Gonzalez, on Friday in Kobe, Japab. Hasegawa-Gonzalez is part of a WBC tripleheader at the venue. Last November Hasegawa went up by two weight divisions to beat Juan Carlos Burgos to capture the vacant belt.

‘‘Everything is going smoothly and I want to be in top condition by the day of the fight,’’ Hasegawa told Japan Today. ‘‘I have already fought once (for the featherweight title) and I know what I have got to do. (Gonzalez) is tall with a long reach and is a tricky opponent. I have been tuning up to make use of my speed."

Also on the show, WBC super bantamweight champion Toshiaki Nishioka will be making his sixth title defense against sixth-ranked challenger Mauricio Munoz of Argentina, and WBC super featherweight champion Takahiro Aoh will take on Mexican Humberto Gutierrez, ranked third in the world. It will be the first time that three Japanese champions will defend their titles together at the same venue.