Azael Villar vs Gerardo Zapata Preview March 7th, 2025
The WBO Latino Junior Flyweight Title is on the line this Friday, March 7th when Nicaragua’s Gerardo Zapata fights at home against Azarel Zapata in a 10-rounder. This is a rematch as they fought to a 10-round draw in Panama City in August, 2023 for the vacant WBA Fedecentro Light Flyweight Title. The fight can be seen on ESPN Knockout in Latin America and Canal 4 in Nicaragua. Zapata last fought in June when he dropped a wide unanimous decision to WBO World Minimumweight (strawweight) Champion Oscar Collazo. Villar’s last fight took place in July and it resulted in an eight-round unanimous decision over Kevin Vivas.
Villar vs Zapata Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Gerardo Zapata +160
- Azael Villar -200
My Pick
The 30-year-old Villar has 131 rounds under his belt since making his pro debut in 2013 and enters the contest with a record of 21-3-4 and 15 Ko’s. He stands 5-feet-6-inches tall with an unlisted reach. Since turning pro he’s won the vacant WBC Fecarbox Light Flyweight Title, which he captured in 2021 via a 10-round unanimous decision over David Martinez. His first defeat came at the hands of Jerson Ortiz in 2018 when he was stopped in just 55 seconds. He was then stopped in the seventh round by Ayumu Hanada in Japan in 2023.
Villar dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Jairo Noriega last March in a shot at the vacant WBO Latino Light Flyweight title in his most recent loss. His four draws came against Gerardo Zapata over 10 rounds as well as Daniel Matellon, Jesus Martinez and Carlos Melo in six-round affairs. As far as power goes, Villlar is pretty useful as 71.4 per cent of his wins have come by way of stoppage but he’s gone the distance in his last four fights and he has two wins, two losses and a draw in his past five outings.
Zapata is a 30-year-old southpaw with a mark of 14-2-1 with 5 Ko’s and has boxed 95 rounds since making his pro debut in 2018 following his amateur career. He measures 5-feet-5-inches tall but unfortunately also has an unlisted reach so is an inch shorter than Gonzalez. As far as power is concerned, Zapata doesn’t possess much of a bang in his punches as just 35.7 per cent of his victories have been by stoppage.
His lone pro defeat came at the hands of Rene Santiago by way of second-round disqualification in December in a shot at the WBO Latino Light Flyweight Belt. He’s now winless in his last three outings with two losses and the draw with Villar in August. Zapata’s biggest wins have come over the likes of Daniel Mendoza, Julio Mendoza, Bryan Castellon and Hector Herrera. Just nine of his 17 opponents have entered the ring with a winning record.
Prediction…
Zapata doesn’t appear to stack up against Villar in most areas, especially power, but he’s got good boxing skills and a solid chin and managed to pull out a draw on the road against Villar in their first meeting. This should be another close contest and it could go either way with another draw a possibility. But with Zapata fighting at home this time I’m expecting him to do just enough to earn a win.
Zapata is fighting at home.
Play: Zapata +160 @ BetOnline.ag
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Azael Villar betting • Gerardo Zapata betting