Angelo Leo welcomes a reigning titlist to his hometown in his title winning effort.

He will now pay it forward for his first defense.

The Ring has learned that Leo's mandatory IBF featherweight title defense versus Tomoki Kameda will take place on March 22 at Yamato Arena in Osaka, Japan. The event—though not the fight itself—was confirmed on Wednesday by Kameda Promotions. 'Lush BOMU vol. 4' will include a rap battle as part of the company's customary musical acts during its shows.

Kameda Promotions is based in Osaka and headed by former three division titlist Koki Kameda, Tomoki's oldest brother.

Leo is The Ring No. 1 featherweight. Kameda is regarded as a 'bubble contender' just outside the top ten, but earned this fight as the IBF mandatory challenger.

Leo (25-1, 12 KOs) won the title in a stunning tenth-round knockout of Luis Alberto Lopez (30-3, 17 KOs) on Aug. 10 in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. A left hook by Leo put Lopez flat on his back to produce the dramatic ending as the title changed hands.

It was Leo's first home fight since 2015, but he will now travel abroad for his first title defense.

His clash versus Kameda (42-4, 23 KOs) was ordered by the IBF earlier this fall. It appeared headed to a purse bid hearing, until the terms offered were enticing enough for Leo to travel to Japan.

Kameda will make his second attempt at becoming a two-division titlist. He previously held the WBO bantamweight belt, in an historic moment that saw Koki, Tomoki and middle brother Daiki become the first trio of brothers to win major titles.

Three successful defenses followed before the youngest Kameda was stripped for entering a secondary WBA title fight. It was double the damage, as he suffered back-to-back defeats.

Kameda won five straight before he came up short in a July 2019 bid versus then-unbeaten WBC 122-pound titlist Rey Vargas (36-1-1, 22 KOs; The Ring No. 4 featherweight).

Another setback was dealt in an upset defeat to Lerato Dlamini (20-3, 11 KOs) last October.

Kameda got it right the second time around in an Aug. 24 split decision over South Africa's Dlamini at Yamato Arena. The bout was a sanctioned IBF eliminator, which paved the way for this very upcoming title fight.