Daigo Higa will have his suspension lifted by the Japan Boxing Commission after he had to forfeit his WBC flyweight belt for failing a weigh-in for his title defense last spring, sources said Saturday.
According to the sources, an official announcement is expected soon after the JBC ethics committee agreed to lift the ban in response to an application by Higa and Yoko Gushiken, chairman of the Shirai Gushiken Sports Gym.
Higa, who had previously been 15-0 with 15 consecutive knockouts, has now been inactive for a year and five months.
The 24-year-old Higa became the first Japanese champion to be stripped of a title for being overweight when he tipped the scales 900 grams over the flyweight limit on the eve of his bout against Nicaragua’s Cristofer Rosales at Yokohama Arena.
On April 14, 2018, he weighed in at 51.7 kg. The following day, Rosales defeated Higa in a ninth-round stoppage to win the vacant WBC flyweight title, Higa losing his title and his undefeated record in the span of two days.
Higa is hoping to return to the ring by the end of the year and has been training to meet the conditions set for his return, which includes a move up a weight class, according to the sources.
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