WBO light-flyweight champion Elwin Soto, a recent signing for Matchroom Boxing USA, will defend his crown against former world title-holder Katsunari Takayama on the Canelo Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders undercard at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on May 8.
Mexican Soto (18-1, 12 KOs) will be making the third defence of the belt he won with a rousing last round KO of Angel Acosta, whilst trailing on all three scorecards, in June 2019.
A previous holder of five strawweight world titles with the WBC, WBO and IBF, Takayama (32-8, 12 KOs) returned to the ring last December after a four-year hiatus. The veteran from Osaka, Japan, is now 37, but hasn’t been stopped in 18 years.
WBA ‘Super’ light-flyweight champion Hiroto Kyoguchi (15-0, 10 KOs), another Matchroom fighter, is also mooted to appear on the Canelo-Saunders card with an eventual unification bout with Soto in mind, according to ESPN Deportes.
Main image: World Boxing Organisation.