March 29, 2024

Yamanaka-Moreno II, Ruiz-Hasegawa set for September 16

Koki Nagahama/Getty Images

Shinsuke Yamanaka and Hugo Ruiz are set to defend their belts in September.

Two WBC world titles will be on the line at EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan, on Friday, September 16. In the main event, Shinsuke Yamanaka will defend his bantamweight title in a rematch against Anselmo Moreno, and Hugo Ruiz will defend his super bantamweight title against veteran Hozumi Hasegawa.

Yamanaka (25-0-2, 17 KO) is considered the best in the world at 118 pounds, and has been for a bit now, but he had a razor thin fight last year with Moreno (36-4-1, 12 KO), winning a split decision. Moreno returned on April 30 in Panama, beating Suriyan Kaikanha for the vacant WBC “silver” title, and now gets a second crack at the top dog at 118.

Ruiz (36-3, 32 KO) was stopped last August by Julio Ceja in an interim WBC title bout, and the two met again on February 27 for the full title. Ruiz got revenge, stopping Ceja in 51 seconds to claim the title. Hasegawa (35-5, 15 KO) is a familiar name, a 35-year-old fighter who held the WBC bantamweight title from 2005-10, making 10 successful defenses. But his last three world title fights have seen him stopped by Fernando Montiel in 2010, Jhonny Gonzalez in 2011 at featherweight, and Kiko Martinez in 2014 at super bantamweight.

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