Kosei Tanaka vs Sho Ishida Preview Dec. 11th, 2021
Former three weight world champion Kosei Tanaka of Japan meets fellow countryman Sho Ishida in Nagoya this Saturday, December 11th with the 10-rounder reportedly being fought at 115.5 lbs. Tanaka hasn’t fought since last New Year’s eve when the WBO Flyweight Champion lost to WBO Super Flyweight Champion Kazuto Ioka via an eighth-round stoppage in a move up in weight. Ishida last fought in November, 2020 when he beat Toshiya Ishii by an eight-round unanimous decision.
Tanaka vs Ishida Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Sho Ishida +600
- Kosei Tanaka -1000
My Pick
The 26-year-old Tanaka still hopes to join Ioka as becoming the only Japanese boxers to win a world title in four weight divisions. He captured the WBO Flyweight Title by majority decision against Sho Kimura in September, 2018 in my pick as 2018’s 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 before losing to Ioka.
Tanaka has fought just 16 times as a pro and owns a perfect record of 15-1 with 9 Ko’s. In fact, he and Vasyl Lomachenko share the world record for the fewest fights (12) to become three-weight world champions as he’s also owned the WBO Minimumweight and Light Flyweight Crowns. 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 126 rounds since.
He won 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 Kimura. Tanaka stands just over 5-feet-4-inches tall and has a wingspan of 64.5 inches. As far as power goes, Tanaka has a current knockout ratio of 56.3 per cent.
The 30-year-old Ishida enters the ring with a fine mark of 29-2 with 15 Kos and has boxed 174 rounds since making his pro debut in 2009. Ishida has fought exclusively in Japan except for making a trip to Cardiff, Wales in 2017 when he was handed his first pro loss by Khalid Yafai in a 12-round unanimous decision in a shot at the WBA Super Flyweight Title.
Ishida’s second defeat came at the hands of Israel Gonzalez via a 12-round split decision in December, 2019. He stands 5-feet-8-inches tall but has an unlisted reach which gives Ishida a 3.5-inch height advantage over Tanaka. He also has average power with a current knockout ratio of 48.4 per cent. Ishida is another tough and exciting Japanese boxer with a solid chin who has the skills to be a world champion.
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 the last time out. Tanaka definitely isn’t coming back to fight an easy touch as Ishida is a world class boxer in his own right. This could be tough to call but I like Tanaka’s natural aggression in the ring as he doesn’t mind taking a shot to land one of his own. He needs to continue throwing as many punches as possible as he could get outboxed if he tries to engage in a chess match. It’s tough to tell how the loss to Ioka affected him, but I’m leaning towards Tanaka again this weekend.
Tanaka’s aggressive style should be the difference.
Play: Tanaka -1000 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Kosei Tanaka betting • Sho Ishida betting