Following the disappointment of not being able to fight against International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight champion Angelo Leo from the United States of America (USA), Lerato ‘Lights Out’ Dlamini will now travel to Japan in May for a date with Japanese opponent Mikito Nakano.
Welkom-born Dlamini, who is rated number four by the IBF, will face Nakano in a 10 rounds bout in Tokyo on Wednesday, 6 May.
Last November Dlamini was scheduled to fight in a Boxing 5 Promotions tournament, only to be taken off the bill after he received a voluntary IBF title shot against Leo, which was scheduled for the 21st of February this year.
With contracts already signed and Dlamini having started training through the festive season, an objection was raised by mandatory number-one contender Ra’eese Aleem. The American and his team refused to allow the exception for Leo to fight against Dlamini.
And after signing the fight contract with Teiken Promotions, who are in partnership with Colin Nathan’s company NO DOUBT Management, it was then announced that Dlamini will clash with Nakano at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
“He is the most humble and dedicated boxer who listens to his manager and accepts decisions made for him while understanding the value of patience. He deserves every opportunity he gets,” Dlamini’s promoter Larry Wainstein from Boxing 5 Promotions said.
Dlamini will be visiting Japan for the third time as he first visited the Asian country when he defeated Japanese boxer Tomoki Kameda in October 2023. He, however, lost to Kameda in August the following year.
