Vitali Tajbert (20-1-0, 6KOs), the WBC champion at super featherweight, is going to defend his title on the 26th of November in Nagoya, Japan. The opponent is the former world champion and current No. 2 in the WBC rankings, Japan's Takahiro Aoh (19-2-1, 9KOs). It his the second title defense and also Tajbert's first professional fight abroad.
The first German world champion in the super featherweight division said - "This is no walk in the park. This is actually my biggest challenge. Takahiro is a very strong man, who will be in his own country going for the title with big percentage of a 120 million Japanese fans behind him. I had some other options, but I think I gain a lot more with a fight against the current number two of the association, who is also an ex-world champion with a good reputation. In Asia, the smaller weight classes are held in a higher standard than here in Europe. To me it is always important to keep audience happy."
Aoh, a southpaw, was in 2009 the WBC world featherweight champion after a win over Oscar Larios. Now Aoh wants the title from Tajbert, who is four inches smaller.
Magomed Schaburow, trainer of Tajbert, said - "We look forward to the fight. We have prepared very well and we'll go to Japan one week before the fight to get used to the country."