Press Release:
The eagerly awaited return of Prizefighter has officially been confirmed for Monday, July 15 – shown live on DAZN (excluding Asia).
The Quarter-Finals of the tournament will be held at Osaka’s Yamato Arena with WBC-OPBF Middleweight Champion Kuzuto Takesako replacing Anauel Ngamissengue in the line-up.
Japan’s knockout artist Takesako (16-2-1, 15 KOs) will be boxing in front of his home fans in his native Osaka when he collides with Britain’s Mark Dickinson (6-0, 2 KOs).
The Japanese Middleweight Title will be on the line too in an exciting rematch as Japan’s all-action. No.1 ranked Middleweight Riku Kunimoto (11-1, 5 KOs) defends his title against arch-rival Eiki Kani (8-4-3, 4 KOs). The pair squared off back in March, with Kunimoto victorious thanks to a sixth-round stoppage in Nagoya.
Britain’s reigning WBA Inter-Continental Middleweight champion Kieron Conway (20-3-1, 5 KOs) will kickstart his quest for glory when he faces a tough opponent in China’s Ainiwaer Yilixiati (19-1, 14 KOs) when the series kicks off.
And Aaron McKenna (18-0, 9 KOs) will be out to establish his future world title challenger credentials with ’The Silencer’ out to make a big impression in Japan. Ireland’s McKenna will face unbeaten, 23-year-old American-Puerto Rican Jeovanny Estela (14-0, 5 KOs).
The champion of the eight-man 2024 Prizefighter series will pocket a bumper $1million winners’ cheque.
The quarter-final draw was made back in January at a launch press conference in Tokyo, alongside Matchroom Boxing’s event partners Never Say Never (NSN) and Rakuten Ticket, Inc.
The three companies have committed to staging three major, world-class events per year over the next three years, featuring some of the best domestic and international fighters with the opening event of the competition hosting four bouts over 10 rounds.
Prizefighter Quarter-Final Draw in Full:
Kunimoto vs Kani
Dickinson vs Takesako
Yilixiati vs Conway
McKenna vs Estela
Meet the fighters:
Riku Kunimoto (10-1, 4 KOs), Japan
Eiki Kani (8-3-3, 4 KOs), Japan
Kieron Conway (20-3-1, 5 KOs), England
Mark Dickinson (6-0, 2 KOs), England
Jeovanny Estela (14-0, 5 KOs), Puerto Rico
Aaron McKenna (18-0, 9 KOs), Ireland
Kuzuto Takesako (16-2-1, 15 KOs), Japan
Ainiwaer Yilixiati (19-1, 14 KOs), China
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