Jake Donovan reports that former bantamweight champion Ryosuke Nishida is officially set to follow recent conqueror Junto Nakatani up to 122 pounds, where he’ll face Bryan Mercado in a February 15th IBF eliminator in Osaka.
Mercado (32-1, 26 KO), BoxRec’s no. 3 at the weight, hasn’t lost in over a decade since dropping a split decision in his second pro fight. This will mark the 30-year-old’s first bout outside of his native Mexico, where he’s fought poor to middling opposition to date.
He replaces Jerwin Ancajas, who initially received the order to face Nishida but withdrew for “undisclosed reasons.”
Nishida (10-1, 2 KO) fights for the first time since falling to Nakatani in June. He gave Nakatani one of his tougher fights to date and has the size for 122, standing 5’7”, so he should be well-positioned to claim a belt once Naoya Inoue packs his bags for featherweight. Assuming Mercado isn’t another out-of-nowhere Mexican destroyer whose weak body of work belies genuine world-class talent, of course.
