World title shot beckons for star Hong Kong boxer Rex Tso as WBA champion calls him out
Japanese ace wants unbeaten 'Wonder Kid' to be his next challenger after retaining his title in Chicago
WBA super flyweight champion Kohei Kono has called out Rex Tso Sing-yu as the fighter he wants to challenge next, providing the “Wonder Kid” with an unexpected boost of finally landing a world title shot.
Kono made the announcement after knocking down fellow Japanese Koki Kameda on his way to retaining his WBA title by unanimous decision at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago over the weekend.
To call out Rex as your next opponent is really a huge boost for Rex. Kono is now more than willing to fight Rex
The 34-year-old Kono, who improved his record to 31-8-1 (13 KOs), said after the bout he wanted to fight the unbeaten 28-year-old Hong Kong star in his next title defence – and that was music to the ears of Tso’s camp.
“To call out Rex as your next opponent is really a huge boost for Rex. Kono is now more than willing to fight Rex. Kono wants to fight outside of Japan, too and he has been eyeing Macau for a long time,” said Tso’s trainer and manager, Jay Lau Chi-yuen, who believes the fight could happen early next year.
“We have been trying to arrange a world title fight with Kono since December 2014. I actually went to speak to Kono’s manager and we were supposed to have had the title shot in July in Macau but it never happened [because of complications with the Kono-Kameda fight]. Now, we have another chance. Rex’s dream of a world title could finally be realised,” he said.
The Tso camp were delighted Kono had won the fight in Chicago, the first time two Japanese fighters had fought for a world title in the United States.