Kosei Tanaka vs Jonathan Gonzalez Preview Aug. 24th 
Unbeaten WBO World Flyweight Champion Kosei Tanaka of Gifu, Japan will be defending his title for the second time this Saturday, August 24th when he takes on Jonathan Gonzalez of Puerto Rico in Nagoya. Tanaka defended the crown in March by unanimous decision against fellow countryman Ryoichi Taguchi. Tanaka won the title by majority decision from Sho Kimura last September in my pick as 2018’s fight of the year. Gonzalez last saw action in November when he stopped Juan Alejo in the eighth round as he defended the WBO NABO Flyweight Title.
Tanaka vs Gonzalez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jonathan Gonzalez +450
- Kosei Tanaka -800
My Pick
Tanaka is just 24 years old and is already a been a world champion in three different weight classes. He’s fought just 13 times as a pro and owns a perfect record of 13-0 along with 7 Kos. In fact, he and Vasyl Lomachenko share the world record for the fewest fights to become three-weight world champions. Tanaka is well known for his volume punching and aggression and is an extremely exciting boxer to watch. He turned pro in 2013 after a fine amateur career and has boxed 108 rounds since.
Tanaka won the vacant WBO Minimumweight Title in 2015 with a unanimous decision over Julian Yedras and defended it once. He stopped Moises Fuentes in the fifth round a year later to capture the vacant WBO Light Flyweight Title and defended it against Angel Acosta and Rangsan Chayanram and added his third title against Kimura. Tanaka stands just over 5-feet-4-inches tall and has a wingspan of 63.5 inches. His knockout ratio is currently 54 per cent, but he typically overwhelms his opponents with his non-stop punching.
The 28-year-old Gonzalez is a southpaw who has boxed 130 rounds since making his pro debut in 2011 following a fine amateur career. He stands 5-feet-2-inches tall with a 62-inch reach which gives him an inch disadvantage in height along with a 1.5-inch setback in reach. Like Tanaka, Gonzalez isn’t a power puncher as his current knockout ratio stands at 50 per cent and his record is 22-2-1 with 13 Kos. Since turning pro he’s won the interim WBO Youth Flyweight Title in 2012 and the NABA Light Flyweight Crown in 2015.
He also captured the the WBC Latino Flyweight Belt in 2015 and captured his WBO NABO title last year. Gonzalez’s lone draw came against Michael Ruiz Jr in 2014 while his two defeats were at the hands of Jobert Alvarez by sixth-round KO in 2016 and Giovani Segura by fourth-round KO in 2013. He’s been stopped in both of his losses so may have a suspect chin. His biggest wins have been against Alejo, Julian Yedras, Ricardo Rodriguez, Carlos Ruiz, Miguel Del Valle, Omar Soto and Danny Flores.
Prediction…
Tanaka is one of Japan’s most exciting boxers and is definitely world class while Gonzalez fine tuned his skills as an amateur national champion and has been a pretty good pro. Gonzalez’s chin could be a question mark over 12 rounds since Tanaka is a volume puncher with an excellent chin. Gonzalez won’t be an easy opponent by any means but I’m going with Tanaka’s nonstop punching style once again.
Tanaka’s volume punching and chin should be the difference.
Play: Tanaka -800 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Jonathan Gonzalez betting • Kosei Tanaka betting