Luis Nery vs Shinsuke Yamanaka rematch set for March 1

Luis Nery will defend the WBC bantamweight title on March 1, heading back to Japan to rematch the man he beat for the belt this past August, Shinsuke Yamanaka.

Nery (25-0, 19 KO) stopped Yamanaka (27-1-2, 19 KO) in the fourth round of their first fight, a pretty notable upset, given that Yamanaka had been considered the best bantamweight in the world for some time.

But the 23-year-old Nery failed a VADA drug test, and while the WBC ultimately ruled that they believed his explanation that he had ingested contaminated meat, the sanctioning body did order the rematch.

Now Yamanaka, 35, gets his chance to regain the belt, in what will be his first fight since their meeting in the summer. Nery fought and defeated Arthur Villanueva via sixth round TKO in a non-title fight on November 4 in Mexico.

Also on the card, Ryosuke Iwasa (24-2, 16 KO) will defend the IBF super bantamweight title against Ernesto Saulong (21-2-1, 8 KO).