By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten WBA Jr Flyweight Champioin Hiroto Kyoguchi of Japan will be facing Axel Aragon Vega of Mexico in Dallas, Texas this Saturday, March 13th. The bout can be seen live on DAZN in North America and the UK. Kyoguchi last fought in October, 2019 when he beat Tetsuya Hisada via 12-round unanimous decision to defend the title. Vega last fought in August when he beat Saul Juarez by 10-round unanimous decision.
The 27-year-old Kyoguchi made his pro debut in 2016 and has boxed 95 rounds since. He’s 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 64-inch reach and enters the ring with a perfect mark of 14-0 with 9 Kos. He won the IBF Minimumweight Title in 2017 with a unanimous decision over Jose Argumedo and defended it against Carlos Buitrago by eighth-round stoppage and Vince Paras by unanimous decision.
Kyoguchi then stepped up in weight and took the WBA Jr Flyweight Crown with a 10th-round KO over Hekkie Budler in December, 2018. He then defended it against Tanawat Nakoon by unanimous decision before meeting Hisada the last time out. Kyoguchi has pretty good power in his hands with a current knockout ratio of 64.3 per cent. He’s quick and has good mobility and will be making his American debut after signing with Matchroom Boxing.
Vega is just 20 years old and climbs through the ropes with a pro record of 14-3-1 after making his debut in 2016 as a teenager. He’s fought 85 rounds since and it’s unclear if he’s stopped growing yet as he’s listed at standing just over 4-feet-9-inches tall and is nicknamed El Mini. This means he has a 6.5-inch height disadvantage against the champ. And with a 58-inch reach he’s giving up six inches in that department too.
His first loss was a 10-round unanimous decision to Wilfredo Mendez in 2018 for the vacant WBO NABO Minimumweight Title. He then lost the rematch in 2019 when he dropped a seven-round technical decision to the champion. Vega won the vacant WBA Fedecentro Light Flyweight Belt in August in his last bout when he beat Saul Juarez. He owns decent power with a current knockout ratio of 44.4 per cent.
Prediction…
Kyoguchi is another solid Japanese world champion who has a big edge in height and reach on Vega. This means Vega needs to get inside to be effective and that’s not really going to be an easy task. I’m expecting Kyoguchi to retain his belt, but Vega’s size might actually give the champ a bit of difficulty.
