Japanese bantamweight boxer Manabu Fukushima will fight Ukrainian WBA champion Wladimir Sidorenko in Tokyo in June in his first shot at a world title in three years, his gym said Friday.
The title match will take place at Korakuen Hall on June 4. A former Oriental-Pacific Boxing Federation super bantamweight champion, the 30-year-old Fukushima lost to interim champion Oscar Larios of Mexico on an eighth-round technical knockout in a WBC super bantamweight title fight in August 2002.
Sidorenko, a 28-year-old bronze medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, will take on Fukushima in the first defense of his title. He has a record of 17 wins in as many matches in his professional career, including six knockouts.