Olascuaga vs Kuwahara Predictions: The Princess who would be King

WBO flyweight champion Anthony Olascuaga faces Taku Kuwahara this Wednesday, December 17. The world title clash takes place at Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan. As of press time, no UK television coverage had been confirmed.

Keep reading for my Olascuaga vs Kuwahara predictions.

Olascuaga vs Kuwahara Odds

The champ is a 1/10 favourite to walk out of Kokugikan with a victory. Kuwahara is 7/1, but his home crowd will be roaring him on. The draw is priced at 16/1. A stalemate would be the first in the career of both men.

Olascuaga vs Kuwahara Fight Preview

Male boxing has had kings like Don and princes like Naseem, but never a princess. Until now. ‘La Princesa’ Olascuaga was dubbed as such by his coach, Rudy Hernandez, due to the immense care the fighter gives to his physical appearance.

Any opponent wanting to brandish the unusual nickname as a point of mockery does so at their own risk. Olascuaga is 10-1 with the WBO flyweight belt round his waist. He can hit at the highest level. Aside from a unanimous decision win over Hiroto Kyoguchi, all Olascuaga’s world title fights have ended in double-quick time.

The Californian annexed the belt with a third-round knockout of Riku Kano in the same arena he meets Kuwahara in on Wednesday. Olascuaga’s second defence didn’t last a round, with an accidental headclash causing Jonathan Gonzalez to quit in unusual scenes. 

There was no such controversy in Olascuaga’s last outing. It took the WBO boss just two rounds to break down Juan Carlos Camacho-Rivera. The flurry of fast, thunderous fists that finished it were a sight to behold. 

It has not been all plain sailing for Olascuaga. Taking on WBA, WBC and The Ring light flyweight champ Kenshiro Teraji at just 5-0 was ill-advised. A TKO loss in the ninth round was the harsh lesson, but it appears to be one Olascuaga has learned. 

Now a fully-fleded flyweight, the 26-year-old looks like pure danger. A hat tip, then, for Kuwahara. The 14-2 campaigner has only ever been beaten by one man. Seigo Yuri Akui finished him in 10 rounds of a Japanese title fight in 2021. The rematch came last year for Akui’s WBA flyweight belt. This one went the distance but the winner was the same. Kuwahara’s redemption never came.

The home fighter has won once since, a five-round knockout of Indonesian journeyman Hamson Lamandau. Now he steps through the ropes with a fighter who looks like the next big thing in the smaller divisions.

Olascuaga vs Kuwahara Full Card

Anthony Olascuaga vs Taku Kuwahara

Kyosuke Takami vs Rene Santiago

Seiya Tsutsumi vs Nonito Donaire

Seigo Yuri Akui vs Vencent Lacar

Tsuyoshi Nishimoto vs Yu Ezaki

Olascuaga vs Kuwahara Prediction

I reckon this one goes on the Olascuaga highlight reel. The pocket rocket is relentless, powerful and has momentum on his side. Kuwahara has come up short in a world title fight in the recent past and I think he goes down again. Olascuaga to win is my pick at 1/10.

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