By Nick Skok

Hiroto Kyoguchi said he’ll vacate his IBF strawweight title and move up to junior flyweight for his next bout. Kyoguchi has had some difficulties making weight and would welcome the move with a cleaner training camp that should lead to a fresher performance inside the ring.

We last saw the young champion in action in May when he successfully defended his title for the second time with a unanimous decision victory against Filipino Vince Paras. The win improved his record to (10-0, 7 knockouts).

His trainer Takashi Inoue said “He is 24 yrs old and his body is getting bigger. I was shocked he was about to [cramp up] in the Paras fight. It was due to dehydration. “

Kyoguchi himself stated: “There’s no reason to stay at strawweight with subpar performances.” Watching and learning from footage of Roman Gonzalez and Ricardo Lopez, he described: “If they’re the top, I’m only half way there” when comparing his weight ascension to there’s.

Watanabe-san, the gym owner and promoter of Kyoguchi thinks he has the potential to be a successful champion like Takashi Uchiyama. Uchiyama was the most successful boxer from Watanabe Gym having won and defended the WBA super featherweight championship eleven times.

After the devastating earthquake last month in northern Osaka where Kyoguchi is from, he’s seen to helping relief efforts including donating a very hearty $5000 to the cause.

Contact the author Nick Skok via Twitter @NoSparring