Riku Masuda vs Daigo Higa Preview July 20th, 2026
The vacant WBA ‘Regular’ Bantamweight Title is up for grabs in Tokyo, Japan this Monday July 20th as Riku Masuda of Hiroshima takes on former world champion Daigo Higa of Okinawa. The 12-round contest can be seen live in Japan on U-Next. Higa last boxed 12 months ago when he battled to a 12-round draw with Antonio Vargas in a shot at the WBA Belt. It was his second straight draw as Higa went 12-rounds with Seiya Tsutsumi five months earlier. That was a rematch as they also drew over 10 rounds in October, 2020. In his previous outing in September, 2024 Higa came out on the wrong end of a controversial unanimous decision to WBO Bantamweight Champion Yoshiki Takei so he is now winless in his last three fights. Masuda last fought in March when he stopped former world champion Nonito Donaire in the eighth round.
Masuda vs Higa Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Daigo Higa +391
- Riku Masuda -600
My Pick
The 28-year-old Masuda is a southpaw who enters the bout with a mark of 10-1 with 9 Ko’s and has boxed just 51 rounds since making his pro debut in 2022. He’s well known as a power puncher early in career as nine of his 10 wins have come by stoppage. These came against Worraphon Yothika in 110 seconds in 2022; against Jeong Ho An in 145 seconds in 2022; a seventh-round stoppage of Fumiya Fuse; against Jonas Sultan in 141 seconds in 2024; against Fumiya Fuse in four rounds in a rematch in 2024; against Yoshihiro Utsumi in seven rounds in 2024; against Kaisei Matsumoto in six rounds in 202; against Michell Banquez in 147 seconds in 2025 and in eight rounds against Donaire.
It’s obvious Masuda has plenty of power and prefers to get his opponents out of there as quickly as possible as 90 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. His lone defeat came at the hands of Seiya Tsutsumi via a close 10-round unanimous decision in 2023 in a shot at the Japanese Bantamweight Title. However he managed to capture that belt 11 months later in his rematch with Fuse. Masuda’s toughest opponents so far have been Tsutsumi and Donaire.
Higa is 30 years of age and also has quite a bit of power in arsenal as he carries around a record of 21-3-3 with 19 Ko’s and has 160 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2014. When it comes to wins and power, 90.5 per cent of Higa’s victories have come by stoppage but he’s halted just three of his past 10 opponents and his record is 5-2-3 over that span. He stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 64-inch reach so gives up 2.5 inches in height and five inches in reach to Masuda.
Since making his pro debut, Higa has captured the vacant WBC Youth World Flyweight Title as well as the Oriental and Pacific Flyweight Belt. He became a world champion in 2017 when he stopped Juan Hernandez Navarrete in the sixth round for the vacant WBC Flyweight Belt. The title was on the line for Higa only as Navarrete came in over weight. He defended the belt by stopping Thomas Masson in the seventh round and Moises Fuentes in the first. Higa then suffered his first defeat and lost his title when Cristofer Rosales halted him in the ninth round in 2028.
This time Higa came in over weight and the title was only up for grabs for Rosales. Higa won the WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight Belt in 2020 when he dethroned Yuki Strong Kobayashi by stopping him in the fifth round. He lost that belt in his first defence in April, 2021 when Ryosuke Nishida beat him via a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision and he also has wins over Froilan Saludar and Sirichai Thaiyen. Higa retired last year after hos draw with Vargas but that obviously didn’t last long as he’s back for another hot at a world title.
Prediction…
Masuda definitely likes letting his hands go in search of a knockout and Higa will have to match his output or exceed it if he wants to become world champion again. This fight could come down to power and chins and has the potential to be a candidate for fight of the year. This is a hard choice as it can go either way as it could suddenly end with just one punch no matter who’s ahead on the scorecards and by what margin. Masuda is the betting favourite here but don’t rule out Higa as this could turn into a 12-round war as long as his chin holds up. This is coming totally out of the blue but I think if Higa lets the leather fly and keeps the pressure on Masuda, he’ll pull off an upset.
Higa has to keep Masuda on the back foot.
Play: Higa +391 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Daigo Higa betting • Riku Masuda betting