Light flyweight boxing heads to Japan this Saturday night where home favourite Kenshiro Teraji will put his WBC and WBA belts on the line. In a fight that has seen a little last minute scrambling, Teraji will face off against America’s Anthony Olascuaga following the late withdrawal of Jonathan Gonzalez due to pneumonia.
Though the withdrawal of Gonzalez means there’s one less belt on the line this weekend, there’s still plenty of intrigue around this match-up. Can Olascuaga stun the reigning champion and pull off an upset victory? Or will Teraji be dominant in front of home crowd?
We break down all the latest odds from bookmaker William Hill looking at the path to victory for each fighter and the best bets to take on this bout.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: April 7th, 9:30 P.M. (GMT)
Looking at the outright winner odds from William Hill, it’s no surprise that Kenshiro Teraji is a heavy favourite heading into this fight. In fact, it’s perhaps a surprise that the odds aren’t more skewed in the defending champion’s favour. Teraji is paying 1.22 for a win compared to Olascuaga’s 4.00 for victory.
Breaking down the odds a little further, and we can see the bookies believe this one will finish early. Teraji winning by knockout is the most likely method of victory at 1.91, ahead of a Teraji decision win, which is paying 2.75. For the challenger, his most likely way of winning is also via knockout but at long odds of 7.00.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: April 7th, 9:30 P.M. (GMT)
Bottom line is this should be a straight forward victory for Teraji. He was intended to be fighting a further light flyweight unification bout against Jonathan Gonzalez, which would have been much more challenging. However, after Gonzalez’ withdrawal, it simply made sense for Teraji to stick to the same schedule and fight a different opponent this weekend. With Olascuaga in Japan and available, the fight was made.
The reality is, there’s a significant mismatch when it comes to experience here. Teraji has 21 professional fights to his name with a record of 20-1-0. Olascuaga, on the other hand, has been inside the ring as a professional less than half a dozen times. While he does hold a 5-0-0 undefeated record, under usual circumstances he would be well off gaining a title fight at this point of his career still.
Backing Teraji to win by knockout is the strongest bet here. Expect him to take a few rounds to get his eye in but not much longer than this. Teraji won’t want to jeopardize any further fights or his perception as a champion by going the distance with a lesser fighter and will likely step on the gas and end this early in the third or fourth rounds.
