Shokichi Iwata vs Rene Santiago Preview March 13th, 2025
WBO Light Flyweight Champion Shokichi Iwata of Japan will be defending the belt for the first time when he meets Puerto Rico’s Rene Santiago in Tokyo this Thursday, March 13th. The 12-rounder can be seen live in America on ESPN+ at 4am ET while those in Ireland and the UK can catch the action on Sky Sports at 8am and Japanese fans can see it on U-Next. Iwata won the vacant title in his last outing when he stopped Jairo Noriega in the third round in October. Santiago’s last contest resulted in a 10-round unanimous decision over Ricardo Astuvila, also in October.
Iwata vs Santiago Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Rene Santiago +550
- Shokichi Iwata -900
My Pick
Iwata is 29-years-old and has boxed 93 rounds since making his pro debut in 2018 and carries around a fine record of 14-1 with 11 Ko’s. Before that he enjoyed a fine amateur career with wins over Kosei Tanaka and Takuma Inoue and won the national boxing tournament while still in high school. He won his pro debut over Joel Bermudez in Carson, California and has fought exclusively in Japan since then. When it comes to power, Iwata has plenty of it in his fists to cause some damage as 78.6 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and he’s halted his last five opponents.
He stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 64-inch reach and possesses fine boxing skills to accompany his power. As a pro he’s also won the vacant Japanese Light Flyweight Title as well as the Oriental and Pacific, and WBO Asia Pacific Light Flyweight Belts. Iwata’s lone pro defeat came at the hands of Jonathan Gonzalez via a unanimous decision in 2022 in a shot at the WBO Light Flyweight Title when he first stepped up in class.
Santiago is 32-years-old with a mark of 13-4 with 9 Ko’s and has boxed 94 rounds since making his pro debut in 2014. He measures 5-feet-3-inches tall but has an unlisted reach so is an inch shorter than the champion. As far as power is concerned, Santiago also has plenty of it as 69.2 of his victories have been by stoppage, including three of his last four. His first pro defeat came at the hands of Waldemar Pagan by six-round unanimous decision in 2016 and he dropped another six-round unanimous decision two years later to Geovani Garcia Barragan.
His third loss was a 10-round unanimous nod to Yudel Reyes in April, 2022 in a shot at the vacant WBO NABO Minimumweight Title and then he lost to Jonathan Gonzalez by unanimous decision last March in a shot at the WBO Light Flyweight Belt. Santiago beat Israel Vazquez by 10-round unanimous decision in 2020 for the vacant WBO Latino Light Flyweight Belt and defended it against Gerardo Zapata by way of second-round disqualification in December 2022 and against Carlos Ortega by ninth-round TKO in April, 2023.
Prediction…
Iwata’s only world class opponent has been Jonathan Gonzalez and he fell just short in that fight but he’s won five in a row by stoppage since then and picked up a world title. Santiago has arguably faced tougher opposition over the years but has lost four fights and is 4-2 in his last six outings. This will also be his first fight across the ocean. This should be a very close contest despite the odds, with no result being a surprise, but I’m leaning towards Iwata pulling it out in his homeland and due to the fact that he’s won five straight contests by KO.
Fighting at home and his power should give the edge Iwata needs.
Play: Iwata -900 @ BetOnline.ag
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Rene Santiago betting • Shokichi Iwata betting