Ryota Murata’s first defense of his secondary middleweight world title, which is scheduled against Emanuele Felice Blandamura on April 15 at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan, will be televised live on ESPN2 thanks to Top Rank’s deal with the ESPN. Top Rank is Murata’s co-promoter. The telecast is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. ET. Murata (13-1, 10 KOs), 32, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist and a major star in Japan, claimed the secondary belt in Tokyo on Oct. 22 when he stopped Hassan N’Dam in the seventh round of their rematch. If Murata beats Blandamura (27-2, 5 KOs), 38, of Italy, the plan is for him to defend the belt in July in Las Vegas against Brazil’s Esquiva Falcao (20-0, 14 KOs), 28, whom he controversially defeated in the gold medal final.
Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer
