I was wondering why the official announcement of Seiya Tsutsumi vs Nonito Donaire on December 17th didn’t include Anthony Olascuaga’s reported WBO flyweight title defense against Jukiya Iimura. Turns out,
Iimura pulled out just before the kickoff press conference, but Taku Kuwahara has stepped up to the plate on a month’s notice.
Kuwahara (14-2, 9 KO) is actually ranked higher than Iimura with the WBO, sitting at no. 4 after a strong run on the domestic scene. The only losses of his career came against Seigo Yuri Akui (21-3-1, 11 KO) and five of his last six wins have come inside the distance.
Olascuaga (10-1, 7 KO), who’s beaten Hiroto Kyoguchi and Juan Carlos Camacho-Rivera during his 2025 campaign, is now set for his first three-fight year since 2022.
Akui himself will also return to action for the first time since last March’s unification shootout with Kenshiro Teraji, which saw him stopped in the 12th while up on two cards. With Teraji gunning for gold at 115 and Akui ranked no. 3 with three sanctioning bodies, we could see him back in the title picture before too long if he gets past the monstrous challenge of TBA next month.
