The much anticipated rematch between American champion Rob “Bravo” Brant and former champion Ryota Murata will take place on July 12 at the Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan. The fight will be live streamed online through the ESPN+ streaming service.
Also on the card undefeated WBC light flyweight world champion Ken Shiro will defends his belt against Filipino challenger Jonathan Taconing.
Rob Brant (25-1, 17 KOs) from Oakdale, Minnesota achieved his dream of becoming a world champion on October 2018 when he defeated Murata in Las Vegas, in an upset taking his WBA regular middleweight title by unanimous decision.
He went on to defended the belt once, stopping Ukrainian challenger Khasan Baysangurov in 11 rounds.
Murata (14-2, 11 KOs) hasn’t fought since that fateful day in 2018. The former champion has been fixated on getting revenge and getting his title back.
On Friday he will have a chance to avenge his loss and reclaim his belt in front his Japanese countryman.
Ken Shiro (15-0, 8 KOs) won the WBC light flyweight world title when he beat Ganigan Lopez in 2017. The Japanese champion went on to defend his title five times and now will take on a tough Filipino slugger Jonathan Taconing to try to make his sixth defense.
Taconing (28-3-1, 22 KOS) is only 5 feet 2 inches tall and will head into the this championship fight as a huge underdog. He fought once before for the WBC title against Ganigan Lopez in 2016 but fell short losing a unanimous decision.
At 32, the southpaw Taconing will have one more shot to become a champion, he must bring his all to defeat Shiro in front of his hometown fans.
Top Rank on ESPN Fight Card
Middleweight World Championship – Rob Brant vs Ryota Murata (WBA “Regular” Title)
Light Flyweight Championship – Ken Shiro vs Jonathan Taconing (WBC Title)
Super Featherweight – Joe Noynay vs Satoshi Shimizu
Rob Brant vs Ryota Murata 2 Live on Friday, July 12, 2019 at 7:00 AM EST/PST on ESPN+.
