Kosei Tanaka vs Jonathan ‘Titan’ Rodriguez Preview July 20th, 2024
WBO Super Flyweight Champion Kosei Tanaka of Japan takes on Mexico’s Jonathan Rodriguez in Tokyo this Saturday, July 20th. The 12-rounder can be seen live in America on ESPN+ with the card getting underway at approximately 5 am while fans in the UK and Ireland can catch the bout on Sky Sports Action at 10 am. Tanaka last fought in February when he beat Christian Bacasegua Rangel via a unanimous decision to win the vacant belt and has won five straight fights since the former WBO Flyweight Champion lost to WBO Super Flyweight Champion Kazuto Ioka via an eighth-round stoppage in a move up in weight in late 2020. Rodriguez last boxed in July of last year when he battled to a 10-round draw with Israel Gonzalez.
Tanaka vs Rodriguez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jonathan Rodriguez +600
- Kosei Tanaka -1000
My Pick
The 29-year-old Tanaka recently joined Kazuto Ioka and Naoya Inoue as the only male Japanese boxers to win a world title in four weight divisions. He won the WBO Flyweight Title by majority decision against Sho Kimura in 2018 in my pick as the fight of the year. He defended the crown six months later by unanimous decision against fellow countryman Ryoichi Taguchi in another classic then retained it against Jonathan Gonzalez by seventh-round stoppage in August, 2019 before stopping Wulan Tuolehazi in the third round and losing to Ioka on New Year’s Eve 2020.
Tanaka has fought just 21 times as a pro and owns a mark of 20-1 with 11 Ko’s. He and Vasyl Lomachenko share the world record for the fewest fights (12) to become three-weight world champions as Tanaka has also owned the WBO Minimumweight and Light Flyweight Crowns and also beat Masayoshi Hashizume in June, 2022 for the WBO Asia Pacific Super Flyweight Belt. He’s 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 173 rounds since.
Tanaka captured the vacant 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 Light Flyweight Title and defended it against Angel Acosta and Rangsan Chayanram and added his third title against Sho Kimura. Tanaka stands just over 5-feet-4-inches tall and has a wingspan of 64.5 inches. As far as power goes, 55 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and he has gone the distance in three of his last five fights.
The 28-year-old Rodriguez makes the ring walk with a mark of 25-2-1 with 17 Ko’s. He made his pro debut in 2015 and has boxed 169 rounds since. He possesses pretty good power as 68 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but has halted just one of his past five opponents. Rodriguez’s first defeat came in March, 2018 when he dropped a a 10-round split decision to Jose Garcia and his second loss came to Jerwin Ancajas by unanimous decision in a shot at the IBF Super Bantamweight Title in April, 2021, after being dropped in the eighth round.
Rodriguez measures 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 66.5-inch reach which sees him enter the ring with an inch edge in height over Tanaka as well as two inches in reach. Since turning pro, Rodriguez has captured the WBC Fecombox Super Flyweight Title with a third-round stoppage of Alejandro Perez in September, 2018 and also won the interim version of the title a year earlier. He also has wins over Juan Ramirez Marquez, David Reyes Cota and Juan Gonzalez.
Prediction…
Anytime Tanaka steps into the ring it has the potential to be one of the fights of the year due to his volume punching and heart. He also has a great chin even though he was stopped by Ioka in 2020. Rodriguez also has enough power to pull off an upset in Tokyo but he will have to deal with Tanaka’s natural aggression. He’ll also find out that Tanaka doesn’t mind taking a shot to land one of his own. Still, Tanaka needs to throw as many punches as possible to keep Rodriguez on his back foot and if he does I’m expecting him to retain his belt this weekend.
Tanaka is fighting at home and is a slight class above Rodriguez at this stage of their careers.
Play: Tanaka -1000 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Jonathan Rodriguez betting • Kosei Tanaka betting