Danny Roman, the reigning WBA super bantamweight champion, makes the first defense of his recently acquired title against the No. 13 rated challenger in Ryo Matsumoto on Feb. 28, from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Roman (23-2-1, 9 KOs), who is based in Los Angeles, became the new WBA belt holder in September after dismantling Shun Kubo by ninth round stoppage in the latter's home country of Japan.
Matsumoto (21-1, 19 KOs) heads into his first world title fight with a four fight knockout win streak. His 19 knockout wins against 21 total victories is certainly impressive and is among the reasons for his world ranking.