By Joe Koizumi
Photo by Boxing Beat

Current and former world champions of Japan will participate in a charity event named “Legend” on this coming Thursday (a holiday called National Foundation Day) in Tokyo, Japan. They will show special exhibitions for three rounds at the Yoyogi First Gymnasium, as follows:

Naoya Inoue (WBA, IBF 118-pound champion)
vs.
Daigo Higa (ex-WBC 112-pound titlist, now a bantamweight)

Hiroto Kyoguchi (WBA 108-pound titleholder)
vs.
Akira Yaegashi (former three-division champ; retired)

Takashi Uchiyama (ex-WBA 130-pound champion; retired)
vs.
Kosuke Saka (current JBC 130-pound titlist)

Sho Kimura (ex-WBO flyweight ruler)
vs.
Yoshiki Takei (former K-1 champ who will make a debut this March)

Plus three other contests.

The organizer is an enterprise Onsite Screen of a PCR testing instrument against the COVID-19 coronavirus infection which is reportedly very fast in testing positive or negative for an estimated 5,000 or less audience. The ticket prices including a PCR test are as follows: $950, $474, $190 and $142 (general admission).

Only a problem is that on the same night this Thursday there will be a highly anticipated Japanese featherweight title bout between defending champ WBC#8 Ryo Sagawa (10-1, 5 KOs) and JBC#1 Hinata Maruta (10-1-1, 8 KOs) at the Korakuen Hall, Tokyo. The charity event will start at 4:30 PM and the audience will move to the Hall afterward so that they will be able to watch the Sagawa-Maruta title go, hopefully.