The next fight of Anthony Olascuaga is confirmed for March 15 at BUNTAI Yokohama, where he faces Jukiya Iimura in the main event of U-Next Boxing 5. Olascuaga puts his WBO flyweight title on the line, while Iimura makes his first attempt to become a world champion.
Olascuaga (11-1, 8 KOs) was recently rumored to possibly face newly crowned WBA and WBC 112-pound champion Ricardo Sandoval (27-2, 18 KOs) in a unification bout also in March, but that fight is no longer planned.
Going up against Japan’s Iimura (9-1, 2 KOs), Olascuaga makes the fifth defense of his belt after stopping Taku Kuwahara in December. Iimura makes his first bid to claim one of boxing’s four major belts following two decision victories over Esneth Domingo and Lorenz Dumam-ag last year.
The promotion announced the Olascuaga vs Iimura matchup, along with three other bouts scheduled for the event, during a press conference.
Filipino four-division world champion Nonito Donaire (43-9, 28 KOs) faces Riku Masuda (9-1, 8 KOs) in the co-feature, serving as a final eliminator for the WBA bantamweight title. Donaire looks to bounce back from a split decision defeat to Seiya Tsutsumi last December, while Masuda aims for his seventh consecutive win since dropping a decision to Tsutsumi in August 2023.
Also on the card, Thammanoon Niyomtrong (29-1, 11 KOs) of Thailand makes the first defense of his WBC light flyweight title against Shokichi Iwata (15-2, 12 KOs) of Japan.
Additionally, Japan’s Ryusei Matsumoto (7-0, 4 KOs) defends his WBA Regular minimumweight title against Yuni Takada (16-9-3, 6 KOs) of the Philippines.
The event airs live on U-NEXT in Japan, while the U.S. and international broadcast is yet to be confirmed.
U-Next Boxing 5 fight card
- Anthony Olascuaga vs. Jukiya Iimura – Olascuaga’s WBO flyweight title
- Nonito Donaire vs. Riku Masuda – final eliminator for WBA bantamweight title
- Thammanoon Niyomtrong vs. Shokichi Iwata – Niyomtrong’s WBC light flyweight title
- Ryusei Matsumoto vs. Yuni Takada – Matsumoto’s WBA Regular minimumweight title