New foe for Pacio defense

Joshua Pacio is set to take on a new foe in his first defense of his ONE strawweight world championship.

The Team Lakay youngster will now battle another dangerous fighter in Japan’s Yosuke Saruta for the promotion’s first showpiece of 2019, which will be held in Jakarta.

“Yosuke is one tough assignment,” the 22-year-old champion told the Inquirer. “His record is pretty good too.”

Yosuke, who was tapped by ONE to replace compatriot Hayato Suzuki, has won eight of his last nine outings. He is currently ranked by tapology.com as the second-best professional flyweight in Japan.

But what has piqued Pacio’s interest is his new challenger’s recent victory which came at the expense of former strawweight champion and grappling specialist Alex Silva.

“His last opponent was Alex, so that says a lot, too,” Pacio added. “He’s a veteran of a great promotion as well.”

Yosuke, who is nine years Pacio’s senior, is a grizzled veteran and a champion of the long-running Japanese league Shooto.

But the Philippine bet is also enjoying a winning streak—four to be exact—and is coming off a title-laden year by Team Lakay.

The Asian promotion has been mum over the details of Suzuki’s pullout.

Pacio and Saruta highliight the “Eternal Glory” showpiece which is slated to unfold at Istora Senayan of the Indonesian capital.

Also confirmed to fight in the card are Filipinos Edward Kelly, also of Team Lakay, and Robin Catalan.