Favorites Dominate Japanese Boxing Title Fight Card

Wide Nakatani vs Astrolabio Boxing Odds For Champs

July 18, 2024 157 3 minutes readBoxing News

Favorites Dominate Japanese Boxing Title Fight Card — Photo taken from wbcboxing.com

Nakatani is the Best in the World
Tanaka Back in the Spotlight
Olascuaga Rising the Ranks

Junto Nakatini puts his WBC bantamweight title on the line against Vincent Astrolabio in Tokyo on Saturday. There are three title fights on the card, including Tanaka vs Rodriguez for the WBO flyweight title and Olascuaga vs Kano for the WBO flyweight title. The Nakatani vs Astrolabio boxing odds have the champion at -3000 to win as he leads his compatriots who are mainly favored.

Nakatani vs Astrolabio Fight Card

Date & Time: Saturday, July 20, 5:00 am ET
Location: Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan
Stream: ESPN+

Nakatani is the Best in the World

We’re not surprised boxing betting markets have Nakatani as the short favorite. The Nakatani vs Astrolabio boxing odds have him at -3000 to go 28-0, and he owns 20 wins by knockout. He’s the best boxer on show in Japan on Saturday, and we can’t see him losing to Astrolabio, who is 19-4.

Astrolabio lost to Australian Jason Maloney in 2023 before bouncing back to beat Navapon Khaikanha, but that fight doesn’t give us much confidence.

He rises in class to fight the best in the world, and we think he’ll struggle to find his feet, which could leave him being knocked out.

“Junto Nakatani is one of the best champions in Japan right now. The country of Japan has blossomed with many champions and one of them is Nakatani,” boxing analyst Ed Tolentino said.
“We recognize Naoya Inoue as the best Japanese champion right now, but many people believe that the one right behind Inoue is Nakatani. He is the consensus choice as the no. 10 pound-for-pound in boxing.”

We agree with the latest boxing news, which sees Nakatani being too tough to beat, and we expect him to win by knockout. The Nakatani vs Astrolabio boxing odds have Nakatani at -400 to win by knockout, and those odds are worth snapping up.

Tanaka Back in the Spotlight

Kosei Tanaka is the -1000 favorite to beat Jonathan Rodriguez, which could put him back into the spotlight. The Japanese fighter is the WBO flyweight champion but hasn’t had many high-profile fights over the last few years.

The 29-year-old defeated Pablo Carrillo in 2023, a one-star fight, before beating two-star opponent Christian Rangel by decision earlier this year. These fights were underwhelming, so the favorite with boxing bets gets a chance to put on a show against Rodriguez.

Rodriguez owns 25 wins from 28 fights, so he’s a dangerous fighter at +600 odds. The Mexican owns 17 wins by knockout and comes off a split draw, and he hasn’t impressed us either. His biggest fight came for the IBF flyweight title against Jerwin Ancajas, which he lost by decision. That form isn’t good enough to be competitive against Tanaka, who has the home crowd behind him.

Tanaka is a -120 favorite to win by decision, and that’s where our money is going. He has knockout power, but this fight is likely to go the distance. There is also value in over 10.5 rounds, which has been backed into -180. It’s the most popular option with round betting, and it should be included in boxing parlays for the Japanese card.

Olascuaga Rising the Ranks

Anthony Olascuaga is rising the boxing ranks at 6-1, and he faces a tough test against Riku Kano on Saturday. The 25-year-old American doesn’t have nearly as much experience as Kano, but he’s already the 18th-ranked boxer in the flyweight division.

He started 5-0 before losing to Kenshiro Teraji for the WBA and WBC flyweight titles, and he wasn’t expected to win that fight. Bouncing back to beat Giemel Magramo is a good sign, and he won it by TKO in an impressive performance.

Kano is 22-4-2 and ranked outside the top 50. As the only Japanese fighter on the main card not favored to win at +225, we’re not betting those odds. He hasn’t fought anyone of note, but Olascuaga is the man to include in boxing bets.

Olascuaga has way more upside, and fighting in Japan won’t be an issue. His last two fights came in Japan, and he could become a crowd favorite if he stayed here.