Former world champion Carlos Cañizales (28-3-1, 20 KOs), 33, will fight for the vacant WBA light flyweight world title against Japanese prospect Daiya Kira (4-0, 3 KOs), 23, on September 2nd in Kanagawa, Yokohama, Yokohama Buntai.
The WBA Championships Committee has declared Puerto Rican René Santiago Champion in Recess and approved a fight between Daiya Kira and former world champion Carlos Cañizales for the WBA Light Flyweight (108 lbs) World Championship.
Santiago was scheduled to defend his title against Kira, the mandatory challenger in the division. However, his team informed the Committee that an injury would prevent him from fulfilling the mandatory defense. Consequently, the WBA requested all relevant medical documentation for its Medical Committee to review before making a decision.
After an extensive and detailed review, the Committee decided to designate Santiago as Interim Champion and ordered a championship fight between the WBA's number 1 contender, Japan's Daiya Kira, and the organization's number 2 contender, Venezuela's Carlos Cañizales.
Cañizales, a prodigy of the Bolivarian Revolution, was also the WBC world champion in recess at the time, having been unable to defend his world title last December at the 63rd WBC Annual Convention in Thailand.
On August 1, 2025, an unforgettable day for the Bolivarian Government, Cañizales achieved a knockout victory in the title rematch against Thai champion Panya Pradabsri at the legendary Poliedro de Caracas in a mega-celebration in Venezuela alongside then-President Nicolás Maduro, who, along with his government, strongly supported Cañizales's professional career and many boxing events in that country.
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