Randy Suico and Malcolm Tu?acao are set to defend their respective Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation titles in Nagoya, Japan on Feb. 5.
Suico and Tu?acao, two-thirds of the original Golden Boys of Cebu boxing, will fight in one card to defend the super-featherweight and bantamweight titles, respectively, under the promotion of former WBC super-bantamweight champion Kiyoshi Hatanaka.
Suico, currently ranked WBC No.11, will defend the 130-pound title for the first time outside the country against WBC No.19 Ryudei Sugita for 12 rounds.
While Tu?acao, the former WBC flyweight champion, will risk his 118-pound belt against the undefeated Kohei Ohba.
This will be Suico’s fifth title defense of the title he won on April 2002, while it will be Tu?acao’s first fight since dethroning Kumarnthong Poh Pluemkamol last Nov. 19 in Japan.
First time
For the first time since 1999, Suico and Tu?acao will fight in one card.
After winning numerous gold medals in amateur boxing, the two, along with OPBF welterweight champion Rev Santillan, formed the original Golden Boys of Cebu boxing, who debuted together on Aug. 1, 1998.
The last time the three fought together was when Tu?acao won the RP flyweight title on September 1999.
Suico who has a 23-2 record with 20 KOs, hopes to regain his footing after losing to Javier Jauregui in Los Angeles last September, but Sugita is not an easy prey since he has an impressive 30-2-2 win-loss-draw record with 22 KO wins.
For the talented and skillful Tu?acao (19-1-2, 13KOs), a victory over the unbeaten Ohba (13-0, 8KOs) will install him back to the top 10 of the WBC rankings.
