Yoshiki Takei vs Daigo Higa Preview September 3rd, 2024
Unbeaten WBO Bantamweight Champion unbeaten Yoshiki Takei of Japan defends the belt for the first time this Tuesday, September 3rd when he tangles with fellow countryman Daigo Higa. The 12-round fight from Tokyo can be seen live in America on ESPN+ at 2:30 am ET on the undercard of the Naoya Inoue vs TJ Doheny battle while UK and Irish fans can see it on Sky Sports Plus at 7:30 am. Takei last fought in May when he beat Jason Moloney via a 12-round unanimous decision to win the belt. Higa was last in the ring in December when he stopped Navapon Khaikanha in the fourth round.
Takei vs Higa Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Daigo Higa +275
- Yoshiki Takei -375
My Pick
Takei is a 28-year-old southpaw who has fought just 38 rounds since making his pro debut in 2021. He is a former kickboxer who held the K-1 Super Bantamweight Championship between 2017 and 2020, and was the 2017 and 2019 K-1 Super Bantamweight Grand Prix Champion. Takei retired from kickboxing in late 2020 and at the time, he was the top-ranked 122 lb boxer and eighth best pound-for-pound kickboxer in the world. He makes the ring walk with a perfect mark of 9-0 with 8 Ko’s and won the Oriental and Pacific Super Bantamweight title in his fifth fight when he stopped Pete Apolinar in the fifth round in August, 2022.
It’s quite obvious that Takei has exceptional power as he’s stopped every opponent other than Moloney for an 88.9 per cent knockout ratio. This includes three first-round stoppages; two in the second round; one in the third; one in the fifth and one in the 11th. His victories have come against Moloney, Apolinar, Kazunori Takai, Azusa Takeda, Kazuhiro Imamura, Shingo Kawamura, Bruno Tarimo, Ronnie Baldonado and Mario Diaz Maldonado. Takei measures 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 68-inch reach.
The 29-year-old Higa also has a lot of power in his punches as he carries around a record of 21-2-1 with 19 Ko’s and has 124 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2014. When it comes to wins, 90.5 per cent of Higa’s victories have come by stoppage. He’s stopped his last two opponents but was forced to go the distance in his three previous outings. He measures 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 64-inch reach so gives up three inches in height and four inches in reach to the champion.
Since making his pro debut Higa has captured the vacant WBC Youth World Flyweight Title as well as the Oriental and Pacific Flyweight Belt. He became a world champion in 2017 when he stopped Juan Hernandez Navarrete in the sixth round. The title was on the line for Higa only as Navarrete came in over weight. He defended the belt by stopping Thomas Masson in the seventh round and Moises Fuentes in the first.
He then suffered his first defeat and lost his title when Cristofer Rosales halted him in the ninth round in 2028. This time Higa came in over weight and the title was only up for grabs to Rosales. Higa won the WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight Belt in 2020 when he dethroned Yuki Strong Kobayashi by stopping him in the fifth round. He lost that belt in his first defence in April, 2021 when Ryosuke beat him via a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision. The lone draw on Higa’s record was a 10-round affair with Seiya Tsutsmi in 2020.
Prediction…
There’s no question Takei has successfully made the transition from kickboxing to boxing. He’s stopped every opponent other than Jason Moloney and won a world title in just his ninth pro contest. He’s bigger than Higa and arguably has more power but this is another fight that could be decided by just one punch no matter what the judge’s scorecards say. Takei is still relatively new to the sport in boxing and he ran out of gas late in the Moloney fight when Moloney really poured on the pressure over the last few rounds in a desperate attempt to hold onto his title. This should be an exciting contest but and I feel Takei should do just enough to hang onto his belt.
This is a close call with Takei having a slight edge.
Play: Takei -375 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Daigo Haiga betting • Yoshiki Takei betting