WBO super flyweight champion Naoya Inoue will try to defend his belt for a fourth time when he faces compatriot and former world champion Kohei Kono, on Dec. 30 at Ariake Colosseum, the Ohashi gym announced on Wednesday. The gym also revealed IBF light flyweight title holder Akira Yaegashi and Inoue's younger brother, Takuma, will also take the ring the same day.
An unbeaten right-handed boxer, Inoue will take on a Japanese challenger for the first time since winning his belt in April of 2014.
Kono lost his WBA super flyweight title as he fell to Luis Concepcion of Panama in a decision in late August. The 35-year-old boxer, dubbed "the Tough Boy," said at a Tokyo news conference that retirement crossed his mind after he was knocked from the world champion's perch, but that he regained his motivation when he received the offer to fight Inoue.