When Shinsuke Yamanaka began boxing in high school, all he wanted to do was become a world champion. He accomplished that, but never thought his reign would last this long.
Yamanaka, the WBC bantamweight champ, will face young challenger Luis Nery on Aug. 15 at Shimadzu Arena Kyoto, his Teiken Gym announced on Wednesday.
The 34-year-old last defended his title with a seventh-round TKO of Carlos Carlson in Tokyo in March. That was Yamanaka's 12th successful title defense, the second longest streak ever by a Japanese champion.