Seigo Yuri Akui vs Taku Kuhawara Preview May 6th, 2024
Newly-crowned WBA Flyweight Champion Seigo Yuri Akui of Japan will be defending his belt for the first time when he takes on fellow countryman Taku Kuhawara this Monday, May 6th. The 12-round battle from the Tokyo Dome can be seen live in America on ESPN+ with the card getting away at approximately 4 am ET with fans in the UK and Ireland able to view it on Sky sports Action at 9 am. Akui won the title via a controversial unanimous decision over Artem Dalakian in January while Kuhawara last fought in August when he stopped Wulan Tuolehazi in the fourth round to retain his Oriental and Pacific Flyweight Title. Kuhawara will be trying to avenge his lone defeat as a pro in this fight as well as he was stopped by Akui in the 10th round in 2021 in a shot at the Japanese Flyweight Title.
Akui vs Kuhawara Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Taku Kuhawara +170
- Seigo Yuri Akui -210
My Pick
The 28-year-old Akui will climb through the ropes with a mark of 19-2-1 with 11 Ko’s and stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with an unlisted reach. He made his pro debut in 2014 as a teenager and has 99 rounds of experience under his belt since. His first pro defeat came at the hands of former world champion Junto Nakatani in 2017 when he was stopped in the sixth round and was also halted in his second loss when Jaysever Abcede beat him in the eighth and final round just two fights later in October, 2018. The lone draw on Akui’s record came against Seita Ogido over four rounds in his third pro outing in 2014.
He captured the vacant Japanese Flyweight Title in 2019 by stopping Shun Kosaka in just 136 seconds and defended it three times including the stoppage win over Kuwahara. As far as power is concerned, Akui isn’t known as a knockout artist but has enough of it as 58 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but has gone the distance in his last three fights and in four of the past five. Other than Nakatani and Dalakian, Akui has faced limited opposition as a pro.
Kuhawara is 29 years of age and makes the ring walk with a record of 13-1 with 8 Ko’s and has 71 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2018. He measures just over 5-feet-4-inches tall and unfortunately also has an unlisted reach. He captured the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation Flyweight Title in October, 2022 via a 12-round decision over Giemel Magramo.
As far as power is concerned, Kuhawara ranks slightly ahead of Akui as 61.5 per cent of his victories have come by way of stoppage. This includes his last two and four of his past five. He also has wins over Jose Rivas, Jonathan Refugio, Ricardo Sueno and Yoshiki Minato. When he was stopped by Akui in their first meeting in 2021 he was trailing 86-84 on two of the judge’s scorecards and was even 85-85 on the third.
Prediction…
Akui may have received a bit of a gift with his unanimous decision win over Artem Dalakian in Osaka in January and both of his defeats have come by stoppage. Kuhawara has a bit more power than the champion but it was he who was stopped when they first met. This should should be an entertaining and interesting fight as Kuhawara attempts to avenge that defeat and it could go either way. I’ll lean towards an Akui win though since he’s the champion and has already halted Kuhawara.
Akui should have confidence as he’s already beaten Kuhawara.
Play Akui -210 @ BetOnline.ag
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Seigo Yuri Akui betting • Taku Kuhawara betting