The Shigeoka brothers will once again share the stage with Tomoki Kameda—and one another.
Yudai and Ginjiro Shigeoka are set for separate strawweight title defenses on the same show, the same manner in which they won their separate belts. Both will appear on the already announced March 31 ABEMA-TV card from Nagoya International Conference Hall in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
Ginjiro Shigeoka (10-0, 8KOs) will attempt the first defense of his IBF title versus the Philippines’ ArAr Andales. Older brother Yudai Shigeoka will defend the WBC strawweight title for the first time versus former WBO titlist Melvin Jerusalem.
Both bouts were confirmed during a press conference held Monday by Kameda Promotions, headed by former three-division champ Koki Kameda. The fights join an already announced show that includes a rematch between South Africa’s Lerato Dlamani and Tomoki Kameda, Koki’s younger brother. Also previously confirmed for the event is the Prizefighter middleweight tournament in a joint collaboration with Matchroom Boxing.
Both Shigeoka brothers won their titles in separate bouts on the same show last October.
Ginjiro Shigeoka (10-0, 8KOs; 1NC), 24, claimed the IBF belt in a revenge fueled, fifth-round knockout of defending titleholder Daniel Valladares in their October 7 rematch in Tokyo. The bout came nine months after the two fought to a three-round No-Contest.
Ginjiro has since rebounded from that letdown last January with back-to-back knockout wins, including the second-time-around stoppage of Mexico’s Valladares to end his title reign.
Andales (14-2-3, 6KOs) enters his second career title fight, though he will appear in Japan for his third straight ring appearance.
The 24-year-old from Bacoor, Philippines dropped an eight-round, technical decision to WBA strawweight titlist Thammanoon Niyomtrong (Knockout CP Freshmart) in August 2019. A subsequent knockout loss was followed by an unconventional seven-fight unbeaten streak that includes three draws—two of which ended in technical decisions in his most recent outings preceding his upcoming title challenge.
Yudai Shigeoga (8-0, 5KOs) won the WBC title with a seventh-round knockout of long-reigning Panya Pradabsri. The win saw the 26-year-old southpaw upgrade the interim belt he won in a seventh-round stoppage of former WBO titleholder Wilfredo ‘Bimbito’ Mendez last April 16 also in Tokyo.
The Philippines’ Jerusalem (21-3, 12KOs) won the WBO title on the same show as the first Ginjiro-Valladares fight last January, where he scored a stunning second-round knockout of Masataka Taniguchi. He lost the belt in his first title defense, when he was forced to retire on his stool after seven rounds versus Puerto Rico’s Oscar Collazo last May 27 in Indio, California.
One win has followed for the active Jerusalem, who won an eight-round decision over countryman Francis Jay Diaz last October 29 in General Santos City.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox