NAITO VS. ARIENZA FOR VACANT OPBF SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE

Rikki Naito of Japan (atop) and Jeffrey Arienza of the Philippines will fight for the vacant OPBF super lightweight crown on Jan. 13 at Korakuen Hall.

By LITO DELOS REYES

JAPAN’S Rikki Naito and Jeffrey “The Bull” Arienza of the Philippines will battle it out for the vacant Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) super lightweight title on January 13 at the Korakuen Hall in Japan.
The title was vacated by Australian Darragh Foley, who last defended it successfully last June 23 by a 5th round technical decision against Arienza at the Entertainment Centre in Australia.
Naito (18W-2L-0D, 6 KOs), a former Japanese super featherweight champion, is coming from three straight wins.
He previously won by a split decision against then unbeaten Baishanbo Nasiyiwula (12-0-1) of China last October 20 at Korakuen Hall.
He also earlier beat Thailand’s Nattaphon Srigosol by a 2nd round technical knockout last Sept. 1 and a UD over compatriot Yusuke Nakagawa (10W-6L-1, 6 KOs) last April 10.
Arienza (16W-6L-1D, 10 KOs), on the other hand, won the vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council super lightweight title by knocking out Indonesian Wellem Reyk (19W-17L-4D, 5 KOs) in the 5th round in 2016.
The native of Surigao City also fought but lost for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific super lightweight title by an 11th round TKO to Akihiro Kondo (25W-6L-1D, 16KOs) in 2016.
The 27-year old southpaw last won by a 3rd round TKO to Ronald Postrano at the SM Mall of Asia in December 2016.