Barely a month after Robeisy Ramirez’ first world title win over former world champion Isaac Dogboe and the Cuban has already set for his first defense of his WBO Featherweight title. His next fight will occur on the undercard of the blockbuster match-up between Naoya Inoue and Stephen Fulton, against Japanese contender Satoshi Shimizu. The event will be held at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Tuesday, July 25.

Following a tough and emphatic unanimous decision victory over British-Ghanaian former Super Bantamweight world champion Isaac Dogboe (24-3, 15 KO’s) on April 1st, Cuban WBO Featherweight champion Robeisy Ramirez returns to the ring in less than three months against one of the best Japanese Featherweights in the division; Satoshi Shimuzu (11-1, 10 KO’s).

With Japan known to produce elite-level boxers in the lower divisions of the sort, Satoshi Shimizu already occupies a spot as the 19th best Featherweight in the world (according to BoxRec) but presents a somewhat easier challenge for Robeisy Ramirez given his current age of 37 and the lesser experience he possesses as a professional.

Despite his top 10 ranking on the WBC’s Featherweight ranking boards, Satoshi Shimuzu may perhaps be considered the weakest link ― when taking his age into account ― out of the three Japanese Featherweights who currently have a place on the four main sanctioning bodies’ rankings; Reiya Abe (25-3-1, 10 KO’s) and Ryo Sagawa (12-3, 7 KO’s), yet hidden danger still lurks for the Cuban gold medalist.

While the two aforementioned Japanese fighters are arguably at their peaks given their age and current state of their careers, it might appear as if Robeisy Ramirez and/or his team have opted for the easier pick with 37-year old Satoshi Shimuzu, who last fought in December against a rather lackluster opponent in Landy Cris Leon (14-23-5, 6 KO’s) who had a record of 14-22 prior to his fight with Shimuzu.

In contrast, Reiya Abe is currently 30 ― one year older than Robeisy Ramirez ― should be available given his last match came just a week after Ramirez against a tough opponent in Spanish former IBF Featherweight champion Kiko Martinez (44-11-2, 31 KO’s).

While Ryo Sagawa may not have been willing to step into the ring with Ramirez following his April 18th loss to fellow Japanese prospect Keisuke Matsumoto (8-0, 7 KO’s), there were perhaps more viable options for Robeisy Ramirez’ team to visit when it comes to facing Japanese contenders ― including Matsumoto himself.

In a sense, Ramirez’ choice of opponent may be a step back from facing prime opponents such as Abraham Nova (22-1, 15 KO’s) and Isaac Dogboe, but like Ramirez himself, Sagawa has a varied skillset that stems back since his amateur days that saw him compete in at least two Olympics and even defeat Dogboe in the 2012 Olympics before eventually losing in the semi-final to the winner of the tournament, Luke Campbell (20-4, 16 KO’s).

Additionally, despite having had less fights than Ramirez as a professional and his late age of 37 ― which many would say would mean that Sagawa is in decline ― Ryo Sagawa has more than just a punchers’ chance against Robeisy Ramirez, given he has stopped or knocked out 10 opponents out of his past 11 victories. With a current KO-ratio of 90%, Shimizu presents a different challenge for Ramirez who has so far not faced a puncher as skilled as Shimizu ― who often seems to gravitate between a counterpunching and boxing-puncher style.

Satosh Shimizu’s size is also a determinant factor. Standing at a height of 5’11 and having a reach of 71½, Robeisy Ramirez may perhaps face his toughest challenge yet ― especially if Shimuzu rehydrates well past the 126 pounds they are supposed to fight at. Though Satoshi Shimuzu will come in as the underdog, he presents plenty of problems to the 5’5 Robeisy Ramirez who will need to rely on more than just his skills to push past an opponent that will not hesitate to use any physical advantage he might have in their match.

In any case, Robeisy Ramirez’ bout with Satoshi Shimizu will certainly liven up fight card that, thus far, doesn’t feature many well-known international names except for Ramirez and Stephen Fulton (21-0, 8 KO’s). Given the match will feature the defense of a world title, Ramirez’ and Sagawa’s match has already been billed to be the co-main event of the boxing event that will be headlined by former Bantamweight undisputed champion Naoya Inoue (24-0, 21 KO’s), and Junior Featherweight/Super Bantamweight unified champion Stephen Fulton.