Santiago, Taniguchi Make Weight & Preview

By Joe Koizumi

Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBA, WBO light flyweight champion Rene Santiago (15-4, 9 KOs), Puerto Rico, will put his belts on the line against former WBO ruler Masataka Taniguchi (21-5, 15 KOs), a Japanese southpaw, tomorrow (Friday) in Tokyo, Japan. The weigh-in ceremony was over with Santiago 107.25 and Taniguchi 108 (class limit).

Santiago’s stock recently soared here with his upset victories over then WBO champ Shokichi Iwata and then WBA titlist Kyosuke Takami—both in Tokyo—to stun the audience.