Anthony Olascuaga vs Hiroto Kyoguchi Preview March 13th, 2025
WBO Flyweight Champion Anthony Olascuaga of Los Angeles, California will be battling it out with former IBF Minimumweight (Strawweight) and WBA ‘Super’ World Light Flyweight Champion Hiroto Kyoguchi of Japan in Tokyo this Thursday, March 13th. The 12-rounder can be seen live in America on ESPN+ at 4am while fans in the UK and Ireland can catch it on Sky Sports + at 8am and those in Japan can see it on U-next. Olascuaga stopped Riku Kano in the third round last July to capture the vacant WBO Belt. He defended it against WBO Light Flyweight Champion Jonathan Gonzalez in October and stopped him in the first round. The fight was originally called a no-contest as the pair clashed heads midway through the opening round and Gonzalez quit after saying he couldn’t see. The the ringside doctor ruled that he could continue though despite the small cut and the decision was changed to a TKO after an appeal. Kyoguchi last fought in October when he beat Vince Paras by 10-round majority decision in a trilogy match in Japan after Paras beat him by unanimous decision in South Korea five months earlier. They first met in 2018 in Japan with Kyoguchi winning a unanimous decision to defend his IBF Minimumweight Belt.
Olascuaga vs Kyoguchi Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Hiroto Kyoguchi +300
- Anthony Olascuaga -400
My Pick
The 26-year-old Olascuaga is trained by veteran cornerman Rudy Hernandez and steps into the ring with a mark of 8-1 with 6 Ko’s. He was actually a replacement for Jonathan Gonzalez on just two weeks notice back in April, 2023 when he fought Kenshiro Teraji for the WBA and WBC Light Flyweight Titles. He was already in Japan in training for a fight in South Korea and had sparred against Teraji several years earlier as a teenager. However he was stopped in the bid for the belts by Teraji in the ninth round for his lone pro defeat. Olascuaga has boxed just 43 rounds since making his debut in 2021 and has already had three world title fights in his nine pro bouts.
Olascuaga measures 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 65.5-inch reach and kicked off his pro career with a second-round stoppage of Edwin Reyes and followed it up with a six-round unanimous decision over Saul Juarez. He then beat Gilberto Pedroza by eight-round unanimous decision to win the vacant WBA Fedelatin Featherweight Crown and defended it against Gustavo Alvarez by stopping him after the eighth round and halted Marco Sustaita in the first stanza in October, 2022.
He then lost to Teraji and bounced back with a seventh-round TKO win over Giemel Magramo followed by his title-winning bout against Kano and the defence against Gonzalez. As far as power goes, 75 per cent of Olascuaga’s wins have come by stoppage including his last five but he isn’t really known as a one-punch knockout artist. He’s a fine young champion who enjoyed a successful amateur career and should enter the fight with some confidence and momentum.
The 31-year-old Kyoguchi of Osaka made his pro debut in 2016 and has boxed 148 rounds since. He stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 64-inch reach so gives up 1.5-inches in reach to the champion. He makes the ring walk with a mark of 19-2 with 12 Ko’s. He won the IBF Minimumweight Title in 2017 with a unanimous decision over Jose Argumedo and defended it against Carlos Buitrago by eighth-round stoppage and against Paras by unanimous decision. Kyoguchi then stepped up in weight and took the WBA Light Flyweight Crown with a 10th-round KO over Hekkie Budler in December, 2018.
He defended it against Tanawat Nakoon and Tetsuya Hisada by unanimous decisions before stopping Axel Vega in March, 2021 and Esteban Bermudez in June, 2022. The light flyweight party then came to an end in November, 2022 when he was stopped in the seventh round in a unification bout with fellow countryman Kenshiro Teraji. Kyoguchi bounced back in May, 2023 when he moved up to the 112 lb flyweight division and beat Roland Jay Biendima via a 10-round unanimous decision and then stopped Jerven Mama in three rounds four months later.
Kyoguchi has pretty good power in his hands as 63.2 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage, but he has halted just six of his last 15 opponents. He’s a quick, fan-friendly boxer with fine speed and mobility to go along with his power. Kyoguchi has lost two of his past five fights even though the defeat to Paras last year should have been a draw at the worst for Kyoguchi. Therefore, this is a huge bout for him as he hopes to earn another title in a third weight division.
Prediction…
Olascuaga is five years younger than Kyoguchi but has had just nine pro fights. He does appear to have legitimate power though and that could make a big difference. This has the potential to be a very interesting fight between an aging former champion who’s hoping to win a belt in his third weight division. Kyoguchi hasn’t really been the same though since losing to Kenshiro Teraji and moving up in weight from the 108 to 112 lb division. It’s a hard call as I can imagine Kyoguchi winning this fight if he’s at his absolute best. But Olascuaga could prove to be too powerful for him. I’ll give Kyoguchi the benefit of doubt here and believe he can turn back time and win a close fight against the odds.
Kyoguchi’s experience could be the difference.
Play: Kyoguchi +300 @ BetOnline.ag
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Anthony Olascuaga betting • Hiroto Kyoguchi betting