![\"Text](\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/a\/assets\/texttospeech.svg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Listen to this article<\/p>\n
Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n
The audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
The Toronto Blue Jays logo was on display during a major boxing match in Japan on Monday, leaving some sharp-eyed viewers<\/a> intrigued and Major League Baseball (MLB) possibly miffed.<\/p>\n Sports fans tuning in to watch the WBC bantamweight title fight \u2014 as Takuma Inoue fought Tenshin Nasukawa<\/a> at Tokyo\u2019s Toyota Arena \u2014 could see glimpses of the Blue Jays logo on the corner posts of the ring, as well as on the canvas floor.<\/p>\n The Athletic, which first reported the development, described the arrangement as a “sponsorship” for the Blue Jays that MLB would normally be expected to sign off on \u2014 but that\u2019s not what occurred in this instance, according to the outlet.<\/p>\n “The Blue Jays said they were aware of the sponsorship in advance of the logo being used and that it was not a paid sponsorship,” The Athletic said in a report published<\/a> on Monday, also noting that the league office was not involved in this effort.<\/p>\n A Blue Jays spokesperson did not deny the report on Monday evening.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Athletic article is up to date, and our input is included. We have nothing further to add,\u201d Andrea Goldstein, the Blue Jays vice-president of communications, told CBC News via email.<\/p>\n The Athletic said it was not clear if MLB would follow up on the matter.<\/p>\n The league did not immediately respond to a phone message asking for comment on Monday night.<\/p>\n The Blue Jays are coming off their best season in years, having been the runner-up in the World Series<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The team’s seven-game battle against the Los Angeles Dodgers drew millions of Canadian viewers, including an epic Game 7<\/a>.<\/p>\n That game also drew millions of viewers in Japan<\/a>, who tuned it to see Yoshinobu Yamamoto close out the game for the Dodgers<\/a>, a day after he’d started Game 6 against Toronto \u2014 which L.A. also won<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yamamoto, who also pitched a complete-game victory<\/a> for the Dodgers in Game 2, was named MVP of the World Series<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764050589_245_default.jpg\")
Japan’s Takuma Inoue, left, trades punches with Tenshin Nasukawa, right, during their WBC bantamweight title bout in Tokyo on Monday. A portion of the logo of the Toronto Blue Jays can be seen in the bottom, right-hand corner of the image. (Yusuke Hashizume\/Kyodo Photo\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n![\"Fired-up](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764050589_836_default.jpg\")
Fired-up baseball fans at a Tokyo sports bar are seen celebrating after the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series. (Kim Kyung-Hoon\/Reuters)<\/p>\n