"When a hobby turns into a sport, it becomes a passion. When a sport turns into an industry, it becomes a machine. And the machine always knows how to keep the money flowing, the gears spinning, and the hype alive."
Before the buzz from Renji's international fight even fades, Minato Bayside Gym makes its next move. They officially announce that their veteran boxer, Sekino Yasinobu, a long-time Japanese title contender at Super Featherweight, is moving up to the Lightweight division.
Almost at the same time, the JBC updates its rankings, Sekino now sits at number ten among Lightweights.
It doesn't take long for Tokyo's boxing journalists and die-hard fans to read between the lines. The timing says everything. Because alongside the ranking update comes another announcement:
Sekino Yasinobu vs. Ryoma Takeda, scheduled for June 4th, 2016, at Korakuen Hall.
"Is Minato Bayside sending a message?" one sports headline reads.
