Lee Haskins to defend IBF belt against Shohei Omori in Japan
Thursday 17 November 2016 15:13, UK
IBF bantamweight world champion Lee Haskins will defend his title against Shohei Omori in Japan on December 31.
The fight will be Haskins' third defence of the IBF strap, having outpointed Mexican Ivan Morales in May before defeating bitter rival Stuart Hall in September at London's O2 Arena.
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Haskins (34-3-KO14) will now take on Japanese southpaw Omori (17-1-KO12) - whose sole defeat came against current WBO champion Marlon Tapales - at the Shimazu Arena in Kyoto.
The Bristol bantamweight has never fought in Japan, while Omori, 23, has yet to challenge for a world title, and Haskins explained why he opted to take the fight.
"At this point in my career it's all about having experiences. I've fought my last two opponents at home and now it will be nice to soak up the atmosphere in Japan," he said.
"I have boxed in Spain, Belgium, France and Morrocco so I'm no stranger to travel but each place brings something new and I look forward to seeing what Japan has to offer on New Year's Eve."
Meanwhile, Haskins' manager Chris Sanigar said: "We have watched Shohei Omori and we feel that Lee has the style to beat him, he is a big puncher and Lee will have to be careful especially boxing on Japanese soil.
"His (Omori's) management team will be very confident in their man otherwise they wouldn't have offered us the fight but we are also confident and hopefully it will be a fan friendly fight."
