Munroe heading to Japan

Munroe: number one challenger

People are writing Rendall Munroe off, but there are far more hostile places than Japan for a fighter to travel to.

Frank Maloney
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Rendall Munroe now knows he has to travel to Japan for his world-title bid.

The Leicester bin-man will box WBC super-bantamweight champion Toshiaki Nishioka at the 10,000 capacity Sumo Hall in Tokyo on October 24.

Munroe, the European champion at 122lbs, is the number one challenger to the champion who boasts a 36-4-3 record and has not been beaten since 2004.

Promoter Frank Maloney had hoped to pull of a major coup by bringing the fight to England, but had to admit defeat and is now preparing his man for his first fight outside of the United Kingdom.

Munroe (21-1-0), manager Mike Shinfield and trainer Jason Shinfield will spend 12 days in Japan preparing for the fight.

Professionals

"Tokyo is about eight hours ahead so we need to be there well in advance to make sure everything is spot on," said Maloney.

"People are writing Rendall off, but there are far more hostile places than Japan for a fighter to travel to.

"Nishioka's camp have been complete professionals to deal with and I am sure Rendall will get a fair deal if the fight goes 12 rounds."

Nishioka has been the WBC champion since outclassing Thailand's Napapol Kiatisakchokchai for the then interim belt and seeing Israel Vazquez vacate the main belt to focus on a fourth showdown with Rafael Marquez.

This will be his fifth defence, having taken care of Genaro Garcia, Jhonny Gonzalez, Ivan Hernandez and Balweg Bangoyan inside the distance.