Boxing
Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer 6y

Naoya Inoue to make title defense against Yoan Boyeaux on Dec. 30

Boxing

Junior bantamweight titlist Naoya "Monster" Inoue has his next defense lined up with another in the pipeline if he wins.

Japanese star Inoue will make the seventh defense of his 115-pound world title when he faces Yoan Boyeaux (41-4, 26 KOs) on Dec. 30 in Yokohama, Japan, promoter Hideyuki Ohashi announced Thursday.

And if Inoue comes out of the fight with his title and unscathed, he is due back on Feb. 24 in his second fight in the United States for a bout on HBO's "Superfly II" card.

Inoue made a splash in his American debut on Sept. 9 when he appeared on the "Superfly" card -- super flyweight is the alternate name for the junior bantamweight division -- at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, and knocked out Antonio Nieves in the sixth round on a card that included three notable 115-pound bouts.

Plans are in the works for a sequel, in Southern California or Las Vegas, according to promoter Tom Loeffler, and Inoue would be on the show.

But first Inoue (14-0, 12 KOs), 24, who also won a junior flyweight world title before moving up two weight classes to claim his junior bantamweight belt in 2014, will face Boyeaux, 29, of France.

"Within two months after this title bout, I wish to appear in the U.S. ring again, but will concentrate on this defense at first," Inoue said Thursday.

The main event of the "Superfly II" card in the works would be junior bantamweight titleholder Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (43-4-1, 39 KOs), of Thailand, making his mandatory defense against Mexico's Juan Francisco Estrada (36-2, 25 KOs), a former unified flyweight titleholder.

On the September "Superfly" card, Sor Rungvisai knocked out former four-division champion and former pound-for-pound king Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez in the fourth round of their rematch for an upset in the main event.

In the opening bout of that card, Estrada outpointed former titlist Carlos Cuadras in a title eliminator to earn the shot at Sor Rungvisai. Inoue knocked out Nieves in the co-feature. Gonzalez (46-2, 38 KOs) could make his return on the Feb. 24 undercard, according to Loeffler.

Ohashi also announced bouts that will take place on the Inoue-Boyeaux undercard. In the co-feature, junior flyweight world titlist Ken Shiro (11-0, 5 KOs), 25, of Japan, will make his second defense against Gilberto Pedroza (18-3-2, 8 KOs), 25, of Panama.

In other undercard matches, 2012 Japanese Olympic bronze medalist Satoshi Shimizu (4-0, 4 KOs), 31, who didn't turn pro until 2016, will defend his regional belt against Philippines' Edward Mancito (15-7-2, 9 KOs), 25, in a scheduled 12-rounder. Also, Inoue's younger brother, 21-year-old prospect Takuma Inoue (9-0, 2 KOs), will face Japanese countryman Kentaro Masuda (27-8, 15 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round bantamweight bout.

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