Last Updated on 2020/12/06
China’s Xu Can is set to defend his WBA (Regular) featherweight title later this month when he takes on former WBA (Regular) super-bantamweight champion, Shun Kubo, in what is being billed as the fight of the year in Asia between the two talented boxers.
Can won his WBA crown back in January when he defeated Jesus Rojas in Houston, Texas. The Chinese boxer was given the decision after 12 tough rounds but the decision was unanimous from the three judges (118-110, 117-111, 116-112).
Yes we “Can”! Xu puts Chinese boxing back on the map https://t.co/PY3rfIqka4 pic.twitter.com/ULLznlEA3s
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) January 29, 2019
The victory for Can ensured he became only the third boxer from China to win a world title after Xiong Chaozhong and Zou Shiming. The man nicknamed Monster made his professional debut back in 2013 and after losing two of his opening five fights, a world title fight looked a long way away.
Can was able to produce 12 consecutive victories across three weight divisions after his defeat to Bao Dong in 2014 which earned him his first shot at a world title. The majority of his bouts have come in China, however, he is not afraid to travel as he has fought in Australia, Japan and the United States.
If Can gets past Kubo, where he is the odds-on on favourite in the boxing betting to do so, he has hopes of facing Leo Santa Cruz in the near future. The Mexican holds the Super champion belt with the WBA therefore the two world champions would be facing off to determine who is the number one boxer with the organisation.
Kubo Facing First Shot At Featherweight World Title After Moving Up In Weight
Japan’s Kubo won his first world title following a thriller against Nehomar Cermeno for the WBA (Regular) super-bantamweight crown. The southpaw was knocked down in the seventh round by his Colombian opponent, however, he got back up to win by stoppage in the 10th round.
Daniel Roman stops Shun Kubo to win #WBABoxing Super Bantamweight Championship @thompsonboxing #boxing pic.twitter.com/pCjHbcpbno
— WBA Boxing (@WBABoxing) September 3, 2017
Unfortunately for Kudo, his run as world champion did not last very long as he lost his belt in very first defence against American Daniel Roman in Kyoto. The champion was stopped in the ninth round by Roman who has since unified his belt with the IBF version in the division.
Kubo bounced back in his latest fight against fellow Japanese compatriot Hiroshige Osawa. In what was a close contest, the former world champion got the split decision from the judges’ scorecards to return to winning ways and earn a shot against Can.
This will be the first time that Kubo will have fought outside of Japan and he is sure to have the majority of the crowd cheering against him as Can is a popular boxer in China. Kubo is rated as the outsider by the bookmakers, however, he did upset the odds when defeating Cermeno.
The winner of this contest will have a number of options following the fight, including a chance to unify their title against either WBC champion Gary Russell Jr, IBF crown holder John Warrington or the WBO’s Oscar Valdez. For now though, the focus will be on this huge all-Asian clash in what is set to be a treat for boxing fans.
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