Anthony Olascuaga vs Taku Kuwahara Preview December 17th, 2025
WBO Flyweight Champion Anthony Olascuaga of Los Angeles, California will be battling it out with Taku Kuhawara of Japan over in Tokyo this Wednesday, December 17th as he attempts to defend his belt for the fourth time. Olascuaga last fought in September when he stopped Juan Carlos Camacho-Rivera of Puerto Rico in the second round. Olascuaga stopped Riku Kano in the third round in July, 2024 to capture the vacant WBO Belt. He defended it against WBO Light Flyweight Champion Jonathan Gonzalez thee months later 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. In March of this year, Olascuaga beat former world champion Hiroto Kyoguchi via a controversial unanimous decision before halting Camacho-Rivera. Kuwahara’s last contest resulted in a fifth-round KO over Hamson Lamandau in March. Wednesday’s fight can be seen live in Japan on U Next.
Olascuaga vs Kuwahara Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Taku Kuwahara +643
- Anthony Olascuaga -1250
My Pick
The 26-year-old Olascuaga is trained by veteran cornerman Rudy Hernandez and steps into the ring with a mark of 10-1 with 7 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 his bid for the belts by Teraji in the ninth round for his lone pro defeat. Olascuaga has boxed just 57 rounds since making his debut in 2021 and has already had five world title fights in his 11 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 Riku Kano and defences against Gonzalez, Kyoguchi and Camacho-Rivera. As far as power goes, 70 per cent of Olascuaga’s wins have come by stoppage including six of his past seven 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.
Kuhawara, who hails from Osaka, is 30 years of age and makes the ring walk with a record of 14-2 with 9 Ko’s and has 88 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2018. He measures just over 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 64.5-inch reach so gives up a minimal one-inch in reach to the champion. Kuwahara captured the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation Flyweight Title in October, 2022 via a 12-round decision over Giemel Magramo. He stopped Wulan Tuolehazi in the fourth round to retain those belts in July, 2023.
Kuhawara then attempted to avenge his lone defeat as a pro in May, 2024 when he dropped a unanimous decision to Seigo Yuri Akui in a shot at the WBA Flyweight Title. In their first meeting in 2021, Kuwahara was stopped by Akui in the 10th round in a shot at the Japanese Flyweight Title. As far as power is concerned, Kuhawara has enough of it to do some damage as 64.3 per cent of his victories have come by way of stoppage. This includes his last three and five of his past six. He also has wins over Jose Rivas, Jonathan Refugio, Ricardo Sueno and Yoshiki Minato.
Prediction…
Olascuaga has fought just 11 times as a pro but five of those bouts have been for a world title so he has experience in big fights and has fought five times in Japan already. He does appear to have legitimate power but so does Kuwahara. I expect the Japanese challenger to give it a great shot here but also expect him to fall just short in his second attempt at a world title. However he does have a legitimate chance despite what the odds may suggest and he could pull it off.
Olascuaga has a slight edge in most areas.
Play: Olascuaga -1250 @ BetOnline.ag
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Anthony Olascuaga betting • Taku Kuhawara betting