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 reached 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.
