Takei injured, pulled from Jan. 24 Inoue vs Goodman show
WBO bantamweight champion Yoshiki Takei is out for a few months after suffering a cartilage tear in his right shoulder
Shortly after a cut to Sam Goodman forced Naoya Inoue to delay their undisputed title fight from December 24th to January 24th, WBO bantamweight champion Yoshiki Takei, slated to face undefeated Thai Yuttapong Tongdee, held a press conference to announce that he’d suffered a shoulder injury.
Per Kyodo News, Takei (10-0, 8 KO) “suffered a cartilage tear in his right shoulder earlier in December that will require about four weeks to heal.” Gym owner Hideyuki Ohashi “said he was hoping to get Takei into the ring against Yuttapong sometime in the spring.”
It’s a bummer for sure; Takei, a former kickboxing ace, is guaranteed excitement whenever he enters the ring. His 2024 campaign saw him fend off a last-second surge from Jason Moloney to claim the title in May before slugging his way past fellow knockout artist Daigo Higa in September.
Still, good to know it’s not serious. Shoulder injuries can be an absolute nightmare to manage, so hopefully he heals up nicely and is ready to go in the next few months.