Yoshiki Takei vs Christian Medina Preview September 14th, 2025
Unbeaten WBO Bantamweight Champion Yoshiki Takei of Japan defends the belt for the third time when he tangles with Christian Medina of Mexico this Sunday, September 14th. The 12-round fight from Nagoya can be seen live in Japan on Lemino while those in other parts of the world may be able to see it on ESPN Knockout with the card getting underway at 4am ET. Takei beat Jason Moloney via a 12-round unanimous decision to win the belt in May, 2024 and then beat fellow countryman Daigo Haiga via a controversial unanimous decision in a slugfest in September in his first defence. His last outing was a 127-second TKO over Yuttapong Tongdee in May. Medina’s last contest resulted in a second round stoppage of Juan Ramirez Marquez in May.
Takei vs Medina Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Christian Medina +340
- Yoshiki Takei -500
My Pick
Takei is a 29-year-old southpaw who has fought just 51 rounds since making his pro debut in 2021. He is a former kickboxer who held the K-1 Super Bantamweight Championship between 2017 and 2020, and was the 2017 and 2019 K-1 Super Bantamweight Grand Prix Champion. Takei retired from kickboxing in late 2020 and at the time, he was the top-ranked 122 lb boxer and eighth best pound-for-pound kickboxer in the world. He makes the ring walk with a perfect mark of 11-0 with 9 Ko’s and won the Oriental and Pacific Super Bantamweight title in his fifth fight when he stopped Pete Apolinar in the fifth round in August, 2022.
It’s quite obvious that Takei has exceptional power as he’s stopped every opponent other than Moloney and Higa for an 81.8 per cent knockout ratio. This includes four first-round stoppages; two in the second round; one in the third; one in the fifth and one in the 11th. His victories have come against Tongdee, Higa, Moloney, Apolinar, Kazunori Takai, Azusa Takeda, Kazuhiro Imamura, Shingo Kawamura, Bruno Tarimo, Ronnie Baldonado and Mario Diaz Maldonado. Takei measures 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 67.5-inch reach.
Medina is just 25 years old and owns a record of 25-4 with 18 Ko’s and has 122 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2017 as a teenager. He possesses good power as 72 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including his last four straight. He measures 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 67-inch reach so is the same height as Takei and gives up just half-an-inch in reach. Medina’s first defeat came at the hands of Mario Victorino Vera by four-round unanimous decision in 2018.
He dropped a 10-round unanimous decision in 2019 to Benito Sanchez Garcia in a shot at the vacant WBC FECOMBOX Bantamweight title and lost his next fight four months later when Ruben Gustavo Vega edged him via an eight-round split decision. Medina’s last loss was a 12-round unanimous decision to Ryosuke Nishida in 2023 in Osaka, Japan. Medina won the vacant WBC Youth Bantamweight Belt in 2021 by stopping Edinso Torres in just 164 seconds. He then added the vacant WBO Latino Bantamweight title last November when he stopped Alexis Molina Aguirre in the fifth round.
Prediction…
There’s no question Takei has successfully made the transition from kickboxing to boxing and has brought the power along with him. He’s fighting at home in Japan while Medina has fought once in Japan and lost to Ryosuke Nishida in 2023. The rest of his fights have all been in Mexico. Takei is still relatively new to boxing and he ran out of gas late in the Moloney fight when Moloney really poured on the pressure over the last few rounds in a desperate attempt to hold onto his title. He also arguably lost to Higa in slugfest last year so Medina does have a shot here as he also owns a solid chin. Medina’s stepping up in class though as just 13 of his 29 opponents had a winning record. As long as Takei lets his hands go like he usually does he should to hang onto his belt.
Takei has the edge in power and is fighting at home.
Play: Takei -500 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Christian Medina betting • Yoshiki Takei betting