“Muay Thai Genius” Saya Ito looks to rebound from the first loss of her pro kickboxing career when she returns to the ring at Muaylok 2014: 2nd on July 13th in Tokyo, Japan. The 15-year-old Ito is set to face off against J-Girls Mini Flyweight Champion Momi in a featured matchup on the card.
The bout between Ito and Momi was announced this week. Ito turned pro in April following a 93-fight amateur career and picked up a five-round decision victory. Both Ito and Momi now look to get back on the winning track after dropping close decisions to top-level opponents in their most recent fights.
Ito (78-12-3 amateur, 1-1-0 pro) has already captured numerous championship titles during her lengthy striking career that began at the young age of four. Many of her amateur bouts took place against male opponents and Ito’s pro career thus far has not been easy. After picking up a well-deserved Unanimous Decision victory over Hye-Young Park on April 27th, Ito made a quick return to action to face former J-Girls Mini Flyweight Champion Haru “Taj Mahal” Tajima this past month, but the veteran Tajima took home the win via a narrow decision and Ito now faces off against another J-Girls champ.
Momi (20-9-5) has been one of the brightest stars on the J-Girls roster for close to six years. She was defeated by the aforementioned Haru Tajima in the inaugural J-Girls Mini Flyweight Championship bout in November 2008, but captured the J-Girls 47.63kg crown four years later when she posted a five-round Unanimous Decision win over Miho. In 2013, Momi scored a big win over two-time Shoot Boxing JKS48 Champion Mio Tsumura and she went on to win three of her next four fights. She most recently dropped a decision to former WPMF champ Chiharu in the pair’s third meeting that levelled the score at 1-1-1.
Muaylok 2014: 2nd takes place on July 13th at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan. The bout between Ito and Momi will be featured prominently on the card and elbow strikes will be permitted.
(Photo Credit: eFight)