Kuntae Lee vs Ryan Joshua Yamamoto Preview September 7th, 2024
Unbeaten Kunta Lee puts his Japanese Super Lightweight Title on the line at Tokyo’s famous Korakuen Hall this Saturday, September 7th when he takes on Ryan Joshua Yamamoto. Lee last saw action in April when he beat Homura Fujita by 10-round unanimous decision to take the title in a candidate for fight of the year while Yamamoto came out on the wrong end of an eight-round majority decision to Cristiano Aoqui in his last outing in June.
Lee vs Yamamoto Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Ryan Yamamoto +375
- Kuntae Lee -500
My Pick
The 28-year-old Lee is a southpaw who makes the ring walk with a near-perfect mark of 7-0-1 with 2 Ko’s and has 46 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2019. He has good height for the super lightweight division as he stands 5-feet-11-inches tall. Unfortunately though he has an unlisted reach. As far as power is concerned, he isn’t known as a hard hitter by any stretch of the imagination as just 28.6 per cent of his victories have come by stoppage.
Lee has gone the distance in his last four contests and last halted an opponent in August, 2022 when he stopped Moo Hyun Kim in the second round. The lone draw on Lee’s record was a three-round technical affair with Rivo Kundimang in November, 2019. Lee enjoyed an exceptional amateur career as he set a Japanese record of 62 straight victories during his high-school days.
As for the 30-year-old Yamamoto, he climbs through the ropes with an underwhelming record of 7-6 with just 1 Ko. He turned pro back in 2017 and has boxed 63 rounds since. He measures 5-feet-8-inches tall and also has an unlisted reach so gives up three inches in height to the champion. He also lacks one-punch power as he’s recorded just one stoppage as a pro for a current knockout ratio of 14.3 per cent when it comes to his wins.
Yamamoto has halted just one opponent and that was Yuta Dynamite Takahashi in the fourth round in July, 2020. Yamamoto’s pro career got off to a rocky start as his first two fights and three of his first four, all by four round decisions. One came by majority decision, one by unanimous and the other by a split nod. He’s gone 6-3 since then and has upped his level of competition along the way. Yamamoto has a pretty durable chin but has been stopped once as Hayato Ono halted him in the first round of their September, 2022 tilt.
Prediction…
This is another of Mr. Shota Furuwasa’s Dangan Boxing promotions at the hallowed Korakuen Hall and fans are always treated with exceptional action at these cards. Lee went toe-to-toe with Fujita in an absolute slugfest five months ago and nailed him with numerous solid shots despite not being known for his power. He hopes to make a name for himself on the world stage sometime in the near future and clearly has the skills and desire to do so. Yamamoto has been steadily improving but lacks the power to keep Lee at bay for 10 rounds. If Lee hopes to rise above the domestic level as soon as possible he needs to dominate Yamamoto over 10 rounds or stop him before they reach the distance and will attempt to do so by utilizing his stiff right jab and solid left cross.
Lee is a class above Yamamoto at this stage of their careers.
Play: Lee -500 @ BetOnline.ag
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Kuntae Lee betting • Ryan Joshua Yamamoto betting