Ken Shiro vs Ganigan Lopez Preview May 25th
Undefeated Ken Shiro of Kyoto, Japan will be putting his WBC Light Flyweight Title on the line again this Friday, May 25th over in Tokyo when he takes on Ganigan Lopez of Mexico in a rematch. They first met last May with Shiro winning a majority decision. Shiro’s last bout was a fourth-round stoppage over Gilberto Pedroza in December while Lopez stopped Efren Bautista in seven rounds in his last outing in November. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the UK on Sky Sports. Shiro won the title from Lopez with last year’s decision in just his 10th pro fight.
Shiro vs Lopez Betting Odds
Here are the winner odds from online sportsbook 5dimes.eu
- Ganigan Lopez +300
- Ken Shiro -420
My Pick
The 26-year-old baby-faced Shiro turned pro back in 2014 and has compiled a perfect record so far at 12-0 along with 6 Kos. He’s not really known as a big hitter with a current knockout ratio of 50 per cent. Shiro stands just over 5-feet-4-inches tall with a reach of 64.5 inches. He’s boxed a total of 83 rounds since turning pro and has been involved in some close decisions recently. He’s displayed a solid chin so far as well as good boxing skills. This is his third bout since meeting Lopez the first time.
Eleven out of Shiro’s 12 opponents have had winning records while the other one was making his pro debut. He’s been learning on the job and hasn’t really been put in with easy touches to pad his record. He’s still relatively inexperienced as a pro though and a loss at this stage of his career shouldn’t really be a big setback. Of course, Shiro doesn’t plan on losing his unbeaten record on Friday against Lopez, especially at home in Japan.
Lopez is a 36-year-old veteran southpaw who gave Shiro all he could handle last year, but fell just short on the scorecards. He climbs into the ring with a record of 29-7 with 18 Kos. He turned pro back in 2003 and has fought 249 rounds since then. He’s got a pretty good chin as he’s been stopped just once in his seven losses and like Shiro, also owns a current knockout ratio of 50 per cent. Lopez is 5-feet-5-inches tall with a reach of 65.5 inches which gives him a slight height and reach advantage of an inch.
Along with losing to Shiro, Lopez has also been defeated by Pedro Guevara, Denver Cuello, Adrian Hernandez, Jose Alfredo Zuniga, Juan Palacios and Oscar Saturnino. Cuello was the only man to stop him and he did that in the second round back in 2012. Lopez won the WBC Light Flyweight Crown in March of 2016 via a majority decision over Yu Kimura. Since turning pro he’s also won a few regional title belts.
Prediction…
Shiro has a 10-year edge in youth as he’s just 26, but that means Lopez is more experienced. The first fight was about as close as you can get and Lopez is determined to prove he was jobbed on the scorecards in Japan. This should be another competitive fight, but I think Shiro will have the slight edge and retain his title when it’s all said and done, by win or draw.
Shiro’s youth should help him beat Lopez for the second time.
Play Shiro -420@ 5dimes.eu
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Ganigan Lopez betting • Ken Shiro betting