ESPN+ picks up December 30th championship doubleheader from Tokyo

Those of you willing to wake up at unreasonable hours will be rewarded on December 30th, as ESPN+ will air a pair of title fights in the wee hours of the morning.

Masayuki Ito (24-1-1, 12 KO) has won eight straight, five by knockout, since a majority decision loss to countryman Rikki Naito in 2015. His last fight saw him overwhelm unbeaten Christopher Diaz in hostile territory to secure the WBO super featherweight title. Opponent Evgeny Chuprakov (20-0, 10 KO) is his mandatory challenger, but has faced marginal opposition thus far as a pro.

Takuma Inoue (12-0, 3 KO) defeated Filipino veteran Mark John Yap in September to secure his spot as WBC bantamweight mandatory. He’ll instead fight WBC #2 Petch Sor Chitpattana (48-0, 33 KO), real name Tasana Salapat, for the interim title and a presumed shot at whoever wins between Nordine Oubaali and Rau’shee Warren. Sor Chitpattana has never fought outside his native Thailand.

The card also features Ken Shiro against Saul Juarez, but there’s no word as to whether it’ll air on the app. Considering that Shiro’s already knocked out two elite light flyweights this year, it seems silly not to give him some airtime.