Masanori Rikiishi vs Eduardo Nunez Preview May 28th, 2025
The vacant IBF Super Featherweight Title is on the line in Yokohama, Japan this Wednesday, May 28th as Mexico’s Eduardo Nunez takes on Masanori Rikiishi of Japan. The 12-rounder can be seen live on DAZN in most nations, beginning about 5:15 am ET. Nunez last fought in August when he stopped Miguel Marriaga after six rounds while Rikiishi last saw action in October when he halted Arnel Baconaje in the second round. Nunez was the IBF’s mandatory challenger for Anthony Cacace, but Cacace vacated the belt to fight Leigh Wood a couple of weeks ago. Rikiishi is the younger brother of IBF Junior Flyweight Champion Masamichi Yabuki.
Rikiishi vs Nunez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Masanori Rikiishi +181
- Eduardo Nunez -240
My Pick
The 27-year-old Nunez owns a fine mark of 28-1 with all 28 wins coming by stoppage and has boxed 113 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 as a teenager. He measures 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 68-inch reach and obviously has tremendous power and the only time he has gone the distance was against Hiram Gallardo back in 2018 when he dropped a six-round unanimous decision by scores of 57-56 across the board.
Since that defeat, Nunez has bounced back with 17 straight wins, all by knockout. His biggest victory was an eliminator against former world champion Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov, who he stopped in the 11th round on the road in early 2024 in Tajikistan. He also has wins over Marriaga, Oscar Escandon, Jesus Ceyca, Adrian Perez, Osvaldo Maldonado and Rafael Hernandez. He stopped Jose Vega Ochoa in just 84 seconds in 2018 to win the vacant WBC Youth Silver Featherweight Title. Nunez has fought just twice outside of Mexico and those were his past two outings against Rakhimov and Marriaga. He has gone 10 rounds just twice, when he stopped Rakhimov in the 11th frame and Willmank Canonico Brito in the 10th and final round in September, 2022.
Rikiishi is a 30-year-old southpaw who makes the ring walk with a mark of 16-1 with 11 Ko’s and has 92 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2017. He measures just over 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 71.5-inch reach so has a 3.5-inch edge in height on Nunez as well as a 3.5-inch reach advantage. As far as power is concerned, he’s also a heavy hitter as 68.9 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including his past five in a row and seven of his past eight.
The lone pro defeat on Rikiishi’s record came at the hands of Kosuke Saka by second-round TKO in his third pro outing in 2018. Rikiishi captured the vacant Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation Super Featherweight Belt in 2022 with a 12-round unanimous decision over Takuya Watanabe and added the WBO Asia Pacific Belt in 2023 when he halted Yoshimitsu Kimura in the fifth round. He then won the WBC Silver Super Featherweight Crown in 2024 when he stopped Michael Magnesi in the 12th and final round in Italy with just 26 seconds left in the fight while trailing on all three judges’ scorecards.
Prediction…
Rikiishi has fine kills and power, has a height and reach advantage and is fighting in his homeland. However, Nunez is just 27 years old and entering his prime. He’s also scored knockouts in all 28 of his wins and is a relentless puncher and pressure fighter. This has the potential to be a fight-of-the-year candidate as it could be a 12-round toe-to-toe slugfest or somebody could get caught cold relatively early. This is a close call but I believe Nunez will leave Japan with the vacant belt.
Nunez’s power and non-stop pressure should be the difference.
Play Nunez -240 @ BetOnline.ag
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Eduardo Nunez betting • Masanori Rikiishi betting