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| (Image Source: PR Times/Prime Video Japan) |
Amazon Prime Video is opening 2024 with five world championship bouts headlining two separate nights of great and highly-exciting boxing action emanating from across Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun, slated to be aired on the platform exclusively in the said country with no additional charges and in the United States via ESPN+ with more worldwide broadcast details to be announced in the coming weeks.
The epic action taking place in the Orient kicks off on January 23, 2024 with Prime Video Presents Live Boxing 6 as WBC/WBA light flyweight world champion Kenshiro “The Amazing Boy” Teraji defends his titles against Venezuela’s Carlos Canizales at EDION Arena Osaka while Ukraine-based WBA flyweight world champion Artem Dalakian makes his seventh title defense against former Japanese flyweight champion Seigo Yuri Akui. Teraji (22-1, 14 KOs) is making his third defense as a unified world champion and 15th world title appearance spread across two reigns. Canizales (26-1-1, 19 KOs) has won four fights since the lone defeat on his ledger. Dalakian (22-0, 15 KOs) has been a world champion since winning the vacant title via unanimous decision over Brian Viloria in February 2018. Akui (18-2-1, 11 KOs) resurrected his career following a pair of TKO losses, having won six consecutive contests since 2019. The January 23, 2024 card will also see former kickboxing superstar and rising junior featherweight Tenshin Nasukawa (2-0) continuing his professional boxing journey in an eight-rounder against Luis Robles Pacheco (15-2-1, 5 KOs). The ESPN+ stream commences with an eight-rounder at junior featherweight between Juiki Tatsuyoshi (14-0-1, 10 KOs) and Yuki Yonaha (13-5-1, 8 KOs).
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| (Image Source: PR Times/Prime Video Japan) |
The Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo will play host to a trio of world title showdowns on February 24, 2024, dubbed as Prime Video Presents Live Boxing 7, as Alexandro Santiago defends his WBC bantamweight world title against Japan’s pound-for-pound star Junto Nakatani while WBA bantamweight ruler Takuma Inoue attempt to retain his strap versus former world champion Jerwin Ancajas. The third title fight will be for the vacant WBO junior bantamweight world title as three-division world champion Kosei Tanaka attempts to conquer a fourth weight class when he fights Mexico’s Christian Bacasegua Rangel. Also included is an 8-round bantamweight tilt between Jonas Sultan (19-6, 11 KOs) and Riku Masuda (3-1, 3 KOs). Santiago (28-3-5, 14 KOs) won the vacant WBC world title in July with a unanimous decision over future Boxing Hall of Famer Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire Jr. Nakatani (26-0, 19 KOs) is a two-weight world champion who vacated his WBO junior bantamweight world title following September’s decision win over Argi Cortes. Inoue (18-1, 4 KOs), the younger brother of the now undisputed world junior featherweight boxing champion Naoya Inoue, outlasted Liborio Solis in April to win the WBA world title. An Inoue training injury delayed the fight from its original November date. Ancajas (34-3-2, 23 KOs), a Filipino southpaw, is a former long-reigning IBF junior bantamweight world champion. Following back-to-back championship defeats to Fernando Martinez in 2022, he returned with a fifth-round stoppage over Wilner Soto in June. Tanaka (19-1, 11 KOs) won world titles at 105, 108 and 112 pounds, and he’s now making his second attempt to win a belt at 115. He has won four straight since a 2020 knockout defeat to Kazuto Ioka. Rangel (22-4-2, 9 KOs), from Mexicali, Mexico, is unbeaten in nine fights dating back to 2019.
Prime Video Japan Country Manager Takashi Kodama said, "Last spring, Prime Video Presents Live Boxing began with an amazing battle between Ryota Murata and Golovkin. Since then, Prime Video's premiere live sporting event in Japan has presented five great and exciting boxing events in the past two years. This time we will be announcing two event streams at once at the beginning of the new year with both #6 and #7 are packed with highly-anticipated cards featuring matches between players who are attracting attention. We would like to express our deep gratitude to everyone involved in boxing and the athletes who have made this event possible and we hope that all Prime members look forward to these upcoming cards. You can't help but be moved by the story of the athletes' dreams and determination. Challengers who run on the path to becoming the strongest, champions who aim for even higher heights, athletes who simply push their limits. It's amazing and I think we will be able to see their struggles. Please join us in supporting each athlete's life drama and struggle!" Takeshi Hamada, a representative of Teiken Gym, says, "Boxing has been available on Prime Video since April last year, and some people are discovering the appeal of boxing for the first time, so I feel that the number of fans is expanding. Events will be held for two consecutive months on January 23rd and February 24th with Tenshin Nasukawa's third boxing match, Kenshiro Terachi, Takuma Inoue's world title defense, Junto Nakatani, Seigo Yuri Akui, Tsunenari Tanaka's world title attempt. We have prepared exciting cards such as title challenges. We hope that more customers can enjoy live streaming through Prime Video."
