Tokoname, Japan will play host to an intriguing championship doubleheader on June 6, as two International Boxing Federation (IBF) world titles will be contested at the Aichi Sky Expo.
In the main even Japan’s Masamichi Yabuki (19-4, 18 KOs), a three time world champion and titleholder in two divisions, will defend his IBF flyweight title against Mexico’s Rene Calixto (24-1-1, 10 KOs). The 33 year old Yabuki will be making the second defense of the belt he claimed with a 12th-round stoppage victory over Angel Ayala Lardizabal in March of last year. He followed that performance with another strong finish in December, stopping Felix Alvarado in the final round of his first title defense.
Calixto 31 enters his third attempt at capturing a world title. The Mexican contender rebounded from his previous setback with a fourth round TKO victory over Ruben Lezama Gonzalez last December. His most notable title opportunities came in his rivalry with fellow countryman Willibaldo Garcia, with whom he fought to a split draw for the vacant title in late 2024, before dropping a split decision in their rematch last May.
In the co-feature, Mexico’s Willibaldo Garcia (23-6-2, 13 KOs) will make the first defense of his IBF super flyweight title against Australia’s Andrew Moloney (28-4, 18 KOs), currently ranked No. 3 by the sanctioning body.
Garcia 36 had been scheduled to make his first defense against Japan’s Kenshiro Teraji last December on the undercard of Naoya Inoue’s scheduled appearance, but the bout was canceled due to illness. The fight was never rescheduled, leading to the IBF ordering Garcia to face mandatory challenger Moloney.
Moloney a former WBA super flyweight champion, comes into this title opportunity riding a two fight winning streak following a split decision loss to Pedro Guevara in mid 2024, a defeat that briefly led to his retirement. The 35 year old returned in December with a third-round stoppage win over Jakrawut Majungoen, after previously scoring another stoppage victory against Pawan Kumar Arya in November.
Both title bouts were officially announced during a press conference held Tuesday. Undercard matchups are expected to be confirmed in the coming days.