Yudai Shigeoka to face former world title challenger in August
Earlier today (Monday), it was announced that former WBC Minimumweight world champion Yudai Shigeoka (8-1, 5) [重岡優大] would be returning on August 24th, on the card headlined by the rematch between Tomoki Kameda (41-4, 23) [亀田和毅] and Lerato Dlamini (20-2, 11), in an IBF world title eliminator.
Rather than having an easy return after his first los, Shigeoka has himself chosen to face former IBF world title contender Samuel Salva (20-1, 13), who has reeled off 3 wins since his 2019 loss to Pedro Taduran for the IBF title.a
At a press conference to announce the bout today Shigeoka explained "I realized my weakness in my last match. I was shocked, but I was able to recover thanks to the people around me who supported me. My younger brother Ginjiro is also working hard, so I was pretty depressed, but he told me, 'I don't want to continue without you,' and that moved me."
Shigeoka also explained "There were several candidates, and I chose the strongest fighter. I chose the toughest path that would be challenging. I hope to show that I've returned in my next match and that I'm still strong,"
Regarding at 105lbs Shigeoka told the attendees "I want to get revenge someday, so I can't move up. There is still something I can do in this weight class. It's one of my challenges. I need to dominate this weight class before I can move on,"
Notably Koki Kameda, who will be promoting the show, explained that Samuel Salva was “the kind of opponent you would face in a world title defense match,"
Regarding his last performance Yudai was reflective, and explained "I lost my composure. I panicked in the first round, and lost the momentum. I was sloppy, and that was exploited." and later added "There are some holes in my boxing, so I want to fill them in and improve my level step by step."
Rather than having an easy return after his first los, Shigeoka has himself chosen to face former IBF world title contender Samuel Salva (20-1, 13), who has reeled off 3 wins since his 2019 loss to Pedro Taduran for the IBF title.a
At a press conference to announce the bout today Shigeoka explained "I realized my weakness in my last match. I was shocked, but I was able to recover thanks to the people around me who supported me. My younger brother Ginjiro is also working hard, so I was pretty depressed, but he told me, 'I don't want to continue without you,' and that moved me."
Shigeoka also explained "There were several candidates, and I chose the strongest fighter. I chose the toughest path that would be challenging. I hope to show that I've returned in my next match and that I'm still strong,"
Regarding at 105lbs Shigeoka told the attendees "I want to get revenge someday, so I can't move up. There is still something I can do in this weight class. It's one of my challenges. I need to dominate this weight class before I can move on,"
Notably Koki Kameda, who will be promoting the show, explained that Samuel Salva was “the kind of opponent you would face in a world title defense match,"
Regarding his last performance Yudai was reflective, and explained "I lost my composure. I panicked in the first round, and lost the momentum. I was sloppy, and that was exploited." and later added "There are some holes in my boxing, so I want to fill them in and improve my level step by step."