by Nick Giongco
Filipino banger Aston Palicte will be headed into the lion’s den when he vies for a world crown on June 19 in Japan.
A deal has already been reachd by the camps of Palicte and Kazuto Ioka so they can slug it out for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-flyweight title.
Jason Soong, the chief handler of Palicte, told the Bulletin on Friday that the venue of the scheduled 12-rounder has yet to be determined although Ioka’s homebase of Osaka and Chiba—just outside Tokyo—have been mentioned as candidate sites.
Palicte (25-2-1 with 21 KOs) will het his second crack at a world crown after holding Donnie Nietes to a draw last September in the US.
Ioka (23-2 with 13 KOs) will be gunning for a fourth world crown against Palicte, who will attempt to become the country’s fifth world champion after Manny Pacquiao, Jerwin Ancajas, Nonito Donaire and Vic Saludar.
Palicte is represented in the US by Roy Jones, whose promotional outfit has strong links with the WBO.