Anthony Olascuaga Wins A World Title
The vacant WBO flyweight title was on the line as local Japanese fighter Riku Kano (17-4-1, 9KO) battled Anthony Olascuaga (7-1, 5KO) at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. Kano has reached this point, having overcome his share of adversity.
Following an eighth-round stoppage loss to Shin Ono in August, the future of Kano looked bleak. But the 26-year-old southpaw kept the faith and entered this contest unbeaten in his last ten fights.
He faced an Olascuaga who was in his second world title opportunity. In his previous world title attempt, the 25-year-old from Los Angeles gave a good account for himself before losing by a ninth-round stoppage to the then-unified junior flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji in April 2023. Olascuaga bounced back from that defeat with a seventh-round stoppage over former world title challenger Giemel Magramo in September 2023 in Tokyo.
LANDING EARLY AND OFTEN
Olascuaga was in control from the opening bell. He punished the Japanese fighter with uppercuts and hooks to the body and head. Kano was a willing warrior, but he had no real answers from what was an all-out fistic assault from the Californian.
After two rounds, it was clear that the American was the superior fighter. He continued to bang away with power shots in the third. With twenty seconds to go in the round, he landed a beautiful left uppercut that put Kano down for the count.
Overall, Olascuaga’s performance was sensational. Given his punching power and offensive arsenal, he could have a lengthy world title reign at flyweight. Up next for the new world champion is likely a title defense against Jonathan Gonzalez, the former WBO champion at light flyweight and currently ranked first by the WBO at flyweight.
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