Deep President Shigeru Saeki has announced that Masakazu Imanari will relinquish his Deep bantamweight title.
Now, Hiroshi “Iron” Nakamura and Takafumi Otsuka will fight for the vacant title at Deep 54 Impact. The card takes place June 24 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
Imanari actually lost to Nakamura in a non-title fight earlier this year at Deep 52 Impact. However, walking away from the title is probably due to the fact that he defeated Keisuke Fujiwara and Kenji Osawa to reach the finals of the Dream Japan Bantamweight Grand Prix.
With the victory over Imanari, “Iron” improved his professional record to 12-4-4. In 2008, he fought to a draw with world-ranked featherweight Hatsu Hioki.
Otsuka receives a shot at the belt even after losing in the first round of the Dream tournament. Of his eight career defeats, half have been by either split of majority decision. He holds victories over UFC veteran Dokonjonosuke Mishima and former SRC champion Masanori Kanehara.
This title fight is expected to headline Deep 54 Impact.