Kosei Tanaka vs Phumelele Cafu Preview October 14th, 2024
WBO Super Flyweight Champion Kosei Tanaka of Japan takes on South Africa’s unbeaten Phumelele Cafu in Tokyo this Monday, October 14th. The 12-rounder can be seen live in America on ESPN+ with the card getting underway at approximately 4 am while fans in the UK and Ireland can catch the bout on Sky Sports + at 9 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. Cafu last boxed in December when he stopped Enathi Stelle in just 26 seconds to win the vacant South African Super Flyweight Title.
Tanaka vs Cafu Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Phumelele Cafu +700
- Kosei Tanaka -1250
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 30-year-old Cafu is a southpaw who makes the ring walk with a mark of 10-0-3 with 8 Ko’s. He made his pro debut in 2018 and has boxed 73 rounds since. He possesses great power as 80 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but has gone the distance in two of his last three fights. Cafu’s first draw came in 2018 in his second pro bout when he went four rounds with Landile Ngxeke. He then fought to a 10-round draw with Zolile Miya three fights later and two bouts after that he battled Jackson Chauke to a 12-round draw to win the South African Flyweight Belt in 2022.
Cafu had won the vacant WBF International Flyweight Title in September, 2019 and didn’t fight again until meeting Chauke in March, 2022. He also added the vacant IBF International Super Flyweight Title to his collection in August, 2023 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Genisis Libranza. Cafu measures 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 64-inch reach for a 1.5-inch edge in height on Tanaka. This will be his first fight outside of South Africa as a pro.
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. Cafu 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 or two to land one of his own. Tanaka certainly has more experience against tougher opposition but can’t take Cafu and his power too lightly. Tanaka needs to throw as many punches as possible to keep Cafu on his back foot and if he does I’m expecting him to retain his belt this Monday.
Tanaka is fighting at home and is a slight class above Cafu at this stage of their careers.
Play: Tanaka -1250 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Kosei Tanaka betting • Phumelele Cafu betting