Bryan Mercado Vazquez vs Ryosuke Nishida Preview Feb. 15th, 2026
There’s an IBF Super Bantamweight Eliminator on tap this Sunday, February, 15th as former IBF Bantamweight Champion Ryosuke Nishida of Japan meets Bryan Mercado Vazquez of Mexico City. The 12-rounder takes place in Osaka, Japan and can be seen there on U-Next. Nishida captured his IBF Crown in May, 2024 when he beat Emmanuel Rodriguez by unanimous decision. He then defended it against Anuchai Donsua by seventh-round KO in December, but lost his belt in his last outing in June when Junto Nakatani stopped him after six rounds in an IBF/WBC Bantamweight unification bout. The contest was stopped due to severe swelling over Nishida’s right eye. Vazquez last saw action in November when he stopped Florentino Perez Hernandez in the eighth round.
Mercado Vazquez vs Nishida Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Bryan Mercado Vazquez +300
- Ryosuke Nishida – 400
My Pick
The 30-year-old Mercado Vazquez boasts an impressive record 32-1 with 26 Ko’s and has boxed 124 rounds as a pro since making his debut in 2014. Unfortunately there’s no height and reach information for him but as far as power goes he has plenty of it as 81.2 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including 11 of his past 12. Mercado started boxing at the age of seven and is trained by his father Ricardo Mercado, also a former boxer. As an amateur, Mercado Vazquez reportedly captured the 2011 Mexican National Junior Championships.
The lone defeat on his pro record came in his second contest when he dropped a four-round split decision to Rigoberto Nava back in 2015. Mercado Vazquez has won every fight since and in 2022 he won the WBC Fecarbox Bantamweight Title by stopping Ruben Antonio Tostado Garcia in the second round. In October 2024, Mercado won the USWBC Super Bantamweight Belt after getting up from the canvas in the first round to beat Jose Velazquez via a 10-round unanimous decision. He also has wins over Alejandro Gonzalez, Brandon Gamez Rocha and Arthur Villanueva.
The 27-year-old Nishida is a southpaw who climbs through the ropes with a mark of 10-1 with just 2 Ko’s. He certainly lacks serious power as just 20 per cent of his victories have come by stoppage. His first knockout came in his pro debut in 2019 when he halted Sakol Ketkul in the first round with his second stoppage coming two fights ago when he halted Anuchai Donsua in the seventh stanza. Nishida began boxing in high school and captured a national high school boxing tournament. He gave up the sport following university though but took it up again in 2019.
Nishida, who hails from Kashiba, Nara, has wins over former Japanese Bantamweight Champion Shohei Omori and former WBC Flyweight Champion Daigo Higa. He also beat Christian Medina, who is currently the WBO Bantamweight Champion, by comfortable 12-round unanimous decision in 2023. His 12-round unanimous decision over Higa in 2021 was for the WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight Belt and he defended it against Tetsuro Ohashi, Aljum Pelesio and Songsaeng Phoyaem and won every round on all scorecards against Pelesio and Phoyaem over 10 and 12 rounds respectively. Nishida measures 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 68-inch reach.
Prediction…
Nishida doesn’t have a lot of pro experience and his winning streak was derailed in his last contest when Junto Nakatani stopped him. He has nowhere near the power of Mercado Vazquez but does arguably possess the better boxing skills and has taken on some world-class opponents. However it could be hard to keep the Mexican off of him for all 12 rounds regardless of how good his boxing skills are. The outcome of this fight is going to depend on Mercado Vazquez’s power and Nishida’s chin. It’s a tough one to call. Nishida’s fighting at home while Mercado Vazquez has never fought outside of Mexico. Either Nishida is going to be stopped this weekend or he wins a decision. I’ll go with the latter.
Nishida’s skills should do the trick.
Play: Nishida -400 @ BetOnline.ag
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Bryan Mercado Vazquez betting • Ryosuke Nishida betting