This fight was initially scheduled for mid-November. Russell won the WBA title in March by defeating Jose Valenzuela. Hiraoka, a native of Japan, hasn’t been in the ring since September last year.
The main event of the boxing evening in February will be a fight between WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) and Ryan Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs). This will mark Garcia’s return to the ring after a loss to Rolando Romero in May. The American also recently received an offer to fight Jake Paul, but they decided to decline it.