Riku Kano vs Anthony Olascuaga Preview July 20th, 2024
The vacant WBO Flyweight Title is on the line in Tokyo this Saturday, July 20th as Anthony Olascuaga of Los Angeles, California will be battling it out with Riku Kano of Japan. The 12-rounder can be seen live in America on ESPN+ at 5 am while fans in the UK and Ireland can catch it on Sky Sports Action at 10 am. Kano last saw action in December when he stopped Khomsan Kaewruean in the second round. Olascuaga last boxed in September when he halted Giemel Magramo in the seventh round.
Kano vs Olascuaga Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Riku Kano +200
- Anthony Olascuaga -260
My Pick
The 25-year-old Olascuaga is trained by veteran cornerman Rudy Hernandez and steps into the ring with a mark of 6-1 with 4 Ko’s. He was a replacement for Jonathan Gonzalez on just two weeks notice back in April, 2023 when he fought Kenshiro Teraji for the WBA and WBC Light Flyweight Titles. He was already in Japan in training for a fight in South Korea and had sparred against Teraji several earlier as a teenager however he was stopped in the bid for the belts by Teraji in the ninth round. He has boxed just 39 rounds since making his pro debut in 2021 and is already getting a second chance at a world title in his eighth pro bout.
Olascuaga measures 5-feet-4-inches tall with an unlisted reach and kicked off his pro career with a second-round stoppage of Edwin Reyes and followed it up with a six-round unanimous decision over Saul Juarez. He then beat Gilberto Pedroza by eight-round unanimous decision to win the vacant WBA Fedelatin Featherweight Crown and defended it against Gustavo Alvarez by stopping him after the eighth round and halted Marco Sustaita in the first stanza in October, 2022.
He then lost to Teraji and bounced back with his TKO win over Magramo. As far as power goes, 66.7 per cent of Olascuaga’s wins have come by stoppage but he isn’t really known as a knockout artist. He’s a fine young prospect who enjoyed a successful amateur career and should enter the fight with some confidence after sparring and fighting against Teraji and his style should make for an intriguing title bout with the veteran Kano.
As for Kano, he’s a 26-year-old southpaw who already has 28 fights and 183 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2013 as a teenager and carries around a record of 22-4-2 with 11 Ko’s. Kano lost his pro debut by four-round split decision to Benjie Bartolome and was dropped in the very first round. He earned a four-round draw with Vicente Montecino in his third bout and then won nine in a row before getting a shot at the vacant WBO Minimumweight Title and lost to Katsunari Takayama by a six-round technical decision in 2016.
Two fights later he was stopped by Jerry Tomogdan in the sixth round in a crack at the vacant WBO Asia Pacific Belt. Kano was halted again two fights later in August, 2018 when he was beaten by Shin Ono in an attempt at the Japanese Minimumweight Title. Since then, He’s been on a 10-fight unbeaten streak with nine wins and a draw. As a pro he’s captured the WBO Asia Pacific, Minimumweight Belt as well as the vacant WBC Youth Flyweight Crown, the WBO Asia Pacific Light Flyweight Belt.
Kano stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 65.5-inch reach which is the same height as Olascuaga. As far as power is concerned, he is average as 50 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but he’s gone the distance in three of his last four fights. He’s fought his pro career in Asia as he started out in the Philippines and has also fought in Thailand and his Japanese homeland against domestic level opposition.
Prediction…
Olascuaga appears to be a future world champion but he’s facing an opponent who’s just a year older than he has and who has plenty more pro experience. That being said, Kano has been stopped in two of his four defeats and Olascuaga has the power to cause some damage. This has the potential to be a very interesting fight between two youngsters and it’s certainly a hard call. I think if Olascuaga catches Kano with his power shots though he has a better chance of emerging with the vacant belt.
Olascuaga possesses more power.
Play: Olascuaga -260 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Anthony Olascuaga betting • Riko Kano betting