Northampton's Kieron Conway aims to go big in Japan in $1m Prizefighter title event

The exciting event will see eight middleweight fighters set out to try and win the big money prize over the course of three big fight nights, with the first big show seeing the four quarter-finals staged at the Nagoya Congress Center in Japan on East Sunday (March 31).

Team Shoe-Box fighter Conway, who is the reigning WBA Inter-Continental Middleweight champion, will take on China's Ainiwaer Yilixiati in his last-eight bout, with Yilixiati boasting a strong professional record of 19 wins, including 14 by knockout, and one loss in his 20 fights.

Conway, who has a record of 20 wins (five KOs), three losses and one draw, will be targeting the win that will see him progress to a semi-final meeting with either Ireland’s unbeaten Aaron McKenna (18-0, 9 KOs) or another fighter yet to taste defeat, the 23-year-old American-Puerto Rican Jeovanny Estela (14-0, 5 KOs).The semi-finals will be staged on a second fight night, and the final on a third.

The quarter-final bouts will be over 10 rounds on March 31, when there will be a $100,000 bonus prize pot for KOs on the night, with the semi-finals and final over 12 rounds.

The last eight draw was made in Tokyo on Wednesday, and the other two quarter-finals see Japan’s all-action No.1 ranked Riku Kunimoto (10-1, 4 KOs) defend his Japanese title against mandatory challenger Eiki Kani (8-3-3, 4 KOs), while wildcard British entry Mark Dickinson (6-0, 2 KOs) takes on France’s undefeated 2016 Olympian Anauel Ngamissengue (13-0, 8 KOs).

The clash with Yilixiati will be Conway's first fight since he knocked out Linus Udofia to claim the WBA Inter-Continental title at the Sheffield Arena in October.

That was the 27-year-old's second successive win following on from his points defeat at the hands of American Austin 'Ammo' Williams in Las Vegas in September, 2022.

Yilixiati is the reigning WBO Oriental middleweight champion, a crown the 30-year-old picked up in September when he beat Indian fighter Gaganpreet Sharma with a second round TKO in Wuhan.

The Chinese fighter has been a pro since 2015, and hasn't tasted defeat since 2017 when he was beaten by Australian Jayde Mitchell in Melbourne. He has won his past nine bouts.

The exciting Prizefighter event has come about after Rakuten Ticket and NSN reached a landmark agreement with Matchroom to host a series of events in Japan to promote the growth of the sport in the country.

The three companies have committed to staging three major, world-class events per year over the next three years, and this event featuring Conway is the first.

"This is a fantastic way to start our landmark three-year deal in Japan,” said Matchroom Boxing chief executive Frank Smith. “Prizefighter was immensely popular with Boxing fans in years gone by – and they will love this new inception of the $1million series.

“With a $100k knockout prize pot per event, the fighters will be going all out. It promises to be a thrilling spectacle, filled with tough 50-50 fights, that will capture attention around the world.“

The Prizefighter event will be broadcast live live on Abema in Japan and DAZN worldwide (excluding Asia).