By Takahiro Onaga

This weekend sees boxing fans being let down once again by our great, addictive and regularly frustrating sport. This time however it's not an injury or fighters refusing to sign contracts that will frustrate fight fans but instead the television coverage of a potentially historic and action packed bout.

In the US and the UK many channels are nationwide, and those that are tend to be limited in what they show. In Japan however almost all the TV is regional, with only NHK actually being free to air across the entire country, and it run by a network that has regional affiliates.

Usually for boxing fans that's not a major problem. We usually see the Tokyo and the Osaka based channels of a network both showing the fights, so both Kansai and Kanto get the chance to see the best fighters in Japan. For example Kazuto Ioka is shown on both TBS (in Tokyo) and MBS (in Osaka) whilst Naoya Inoue is on Fuji TV (in Tokyo) and KTV (in Osaka) whilst Shinsuke Yamanaka is on NTV (in Tokyo) and Yomiuri TV (in Osaka).

Almost all the world title fights in the country get aired to both of the major regions, though some of the smaller markets, are forced to miss out.

This weekend however the highly anticipated WBO Minimumweight bout between teenager Riku Kano (10-1-1, 5) [Taisei Gym] and popular veteran Katsunari Takayama (30-8-0-1, 12) [Nakazato Gym] will only be aired in Osaka.

The bout will be shown from 2:40PM on TV Osaka and sadly the Tokyo affiliate, TV Tokyo, will not be airing the bout. That's despite the fact that Kano could become the youngster ever Japanese world champion, at 18 years 9 months and 4 days, and Takayama could become a 5-time champion! Not only are those marks worth noting but given the style of the two men the bout is almost guaranteed to be action packed, with Takayama having long established himself as one of the most exciting fighters on the planet.

The decision for the bout not to air in Kanto, or the East of Japan, is a peculiar one and one that has left Japanese fans incredibly frustrated, especially given the fact they've had many of Takayama's recent bouts on TBS where he has continually thrilled fans.

Despite the move there is hope that the bout will end up online in the hours following the contest. We might all know the result by then but it's better to have it delayed than to have nothing at all.