Kakasa si WBC No. 3 bantamweight Mark John Yap ng Pilipinas sa walang talong Hapones na si WBC No. 9 Takuma Inoue sa WBC eliminator bout sa Setyembre 11 sa Korakuen Hall sa Tokyo, Japan.

May 10 sunod-sunod na panalo si Yap sa Japan mula noong 2014 at nakuha niya ang OPBF bantamweight title noong 2016 at tatlong beses na niya itong naidepensa sa mga boksingerong pawang Hapones.

“Unbeaten prospect Takuya Inoue (11-0, 3 KOs), the younger brother of the WBA bantam ruler ‘Monster’ Naoya, will cope with OPBF titleholder #3 Mark John Yap (29-12, 14 KOs), a Japan-based Filipino import residing in Osaka, in Tokyo, Japan, on September 11. Yap’s OBPF belt will not be on the line,” ayon sa ulat ng Fightnews.com.

May 11 panalo, 3 sa pamamagitan ng knockouts, ang nakababatang si Inoue at tinalo niya sa puntos ang mga world rated na Pilipinong sina Mark Anthony Geraldo, Rene Dacquel at Froilan Saludar para pumasok sa world rankings.

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“Yap, since being traded by Japan’s Muto Gym, showed his spectacular improvement and wrested the OPBF belt by upsetting Takahiro Yamamoto in 2016 to score three defenses to his credit. It will be a highly competitive matchup (against Inoue),” dagdag sa ulat.

Ang magwawagi kina Yap at Inoue ay kakasa naman sa mananalo kina WBC Silver bantamweight champion at No. 1 contender Nordine Ooubaali ng France at walang talong si WBC No. 2 contender Tassana Sanpattan ng Thailand.