By Jake Donovan

With the formal announcement of the April 27 super featherweight title consolidation clash between Takashi Uchiyama and Jezreel Corrales also came confirmation of opponents for two other titlists on the loaded show.

The three-title fight event - which takes place at Ota-City Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan - will also include Kohei Kono and Ryoichi Taguchi in separate bouts. Kono will face Thailand's Inthanon Sithchamuang in the third defense of his super flyweight title, while Taguchi - Uchiyama's stablemate and a fixture on his undercards - puts his 108 lb. belt on the line versus veteran Juan Jose Landaeta from Mexico.

All three bouts were announced during a press conference held by Watanabe Promotions on Wednesday in Tokyo. 

Taguchi (23-2-1, 10KOs) has gained notoriety through his alliance with Uchiyama, regularly appearing on the undercards of the unbeaten super featherweight champ while rising to title status himself.

Prior to nabbing a junior flyweight belt, his most notable feat was providing then 3-0 bubbling prospect Naoya Inoue with a stiff challenge, and to date is the only boxer to go the distance with the now two-division and reigning super flyweight titlist. His own career has soared to new heights, beginning with a New Year's Eve 2014 title win over Alberto Rossel. 

Two successful defenses have followed, including a 9th round stoppage of Luis de la Rosa last New Year's Eve.

Landaeta (27-8-1, 21KOs) is a familiar face in Japan as well as the championship stage. The 37-year old from Mexico has come up short in bids versus Koki Kameda (twice in 2006) and Yutaka Niida (Oct. '04) in previous title fights in Japan. His shot at Taguchi marks his third consecutive appearance in country, having lost a six-round decision to Mark John Yap last June in Hyogo before rebounding with a 9th round knockout win over Walter Tello last September in Tokyo.

Kono (31-8-1, 13KOs) - also a regular face on Uchiyama-topped bills - enjoys a triumphant homecoming following his 12-round decision win over Kameda in their thrilling war last October in Chicago, Illinois. The non-stop punchathon marked the first-ever title fight between two Japanese fighters to take place stateside and didn't disappoint in the slightest. Its only misfortune was serving as the lead-in for another Fight of the Year contender, with light heavyweight contender Andrzej Fonfara outlasting former titlist Nathan Cleverly.

Nevertheless, it was a signature win for Kono, a two-term super flyweight titlist who has experienced his best and worst career moments at the hosting venue. His last fight at home - and at this location - was a forgettable 12-round draw to Dominican journeyman Norberto Jimenez in Dec. '14. 

His first title win came at Ota-City Gymnasium, scoring a stunning 4th round knockout of Tepparith Kokietgym on New Year's Eve 2012, before conceding the belt to Venezuela's Liborio Solis at the same the following May. Upon Solis' eventually vacating the title, Kono returned to title glory with an 8th round stoppage of faded former flyweight titlist Denkaosan Kaovichit in March '14, his two-year anniversary of his second reign coming this weekend. 

Sithchamuang (28-7-1, 17KOs) enters his first career title fight. The 27-year old journeyman from Thailand is 0-3 on the road, suffering a trio of 2nd round knockout losses to Rocky Fuentes, Mark Geraldo and Jerwin Ancajas on all three road trips. 

Headlining the show, the excellent Uchiyama (24-0-1, 20KOs) attempts the 12th defense of a super featherweight title reign dating back to Jan. '11. The 36-year old Tokyo-based champ has become the de-facto leader of the 130 lb. division as his resume has improved with time. Including among his ledger are a pair of 8th round knockout wins over Takashi Miura and Bryan Vasquez, both of whom went on to collect separate titles and emerge among the division's best. 

Hardcore fans have longed for Uchiyama - who is coming off of a 3rd round knockout of Oliver Flores last New Year's Eve - to engage in unification bouts, but the other titlists haven't yet been given proper incentive to travel overseas. Instead, the long reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) "super" 130 lb. titlist now gets to enjoy what should be back-to-back title consolidation bouts. 

Original plans called for the unbeaten champ to face "regular" titlist Javier Fortuna. Negotiations were ordered, only to be abruptly postponed indefinitely as Fortuna - an unbeaten two-division titlist from Dominican Republic - stepped aside to allow interim beltholder Corrales to enter the picture.

Corrales (19-1. 7KOs) - a 24-year old featherweight from Panama - hasn't lost since his second pro fight, as he is unbeaten in his last 19 starts. The lone blemish along the stretch is a win-turned-No-Contest due to having tested positive for marijuana following his Aug. '13 clash with Colombia's Jonathan Perez.

His interim title win came in his most recent effort, scoring an 11th round stoppage of Juan Rodriguez last December in Panama City. The show also included legendary former three-division champ Shane Mosley as well as Luis Concepcion gaining revenge for two previous defeats to Hernan 'Tyson' Marquez with a decision win,

The upcoming showdown with Uchiyama will mark Corrales' first career fight outside of his native Panama.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox