By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten WBO World Flyweight Champion Kosei Tanaka of Japan will be defending his title for the third time this Tuesday, December 31st when he takes on Wulan Tuolehazi of China. The 12-round bout takes place in Ota City, Tokyo. Tanaka last fought in August when he stopped Jonathan Gonzalez in the seventh round. Tuolehazi was last in the ring in October when he stopped Satoshi Tanaka in the fifth round to retain his WBA International Flyweight Title. Tanaka won the title by majority decision against Sho Kimura in September last year in my pick as 2018’s fight of the year. He defended the crown in March by unanimous decision against fellow countryman Ryoichi Taguchi then retained it against Gonzalez.
Tanaka is just 24 years old and is already been a world champion in three different weight classes. He’s fought just 14 times as a pro and owns a perfect record of 14-0 along with 8 Kos. In fact, he and Vasyl Lomachenko share the world record for the fewest fights to become three-weight world champions. Tanaka is well known for his volume punching and aggression and is an extremely exciting boxer to watch. He turned pro in 2013 after a fine amateur career and has boxed 115 rounds since.
Tanaka won the vacant WBO Minimumweight Title in 2015 with a unanimous decision over Julian Yedras and defended it once. He stopped Moises Fuentes in the fifth round a year later to capture the vacant WBO Light Flyweight Title and defended it against Angel Acosta and Rangsan Chayanram and added his third title against Kimura. Tanaka stands just over 5-feet-4-inches tall and has a wingspan of 63.5 inches. His knockout ratio is currently 57 per cent but he typically overwhelms his opponents with his non-stop punching.
Tuolehazi is a 26-year-old with a mark of 13-3-1 with 6 Kos. He made his pro debut in 2015 and has 131 rounds of experience under his belt. He doesn’t possess much in the power department with a current knockout ratio of just 35.3 per cent. Since turning pro he’s managed to capture the WBC Silver, the interim WBO Asia Pacific, and the WBA International Flyweight Titles. Tuolehazi stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 66-inch reach so has an inch height advantage on Tanaka and a 2.5-inch edge in reach.
Tuolehazi has been beaten by Xian Qian Wei, Van Thao Tran and Jian Wang all by decision with his lone draw coming with Takeshi Kaneko over six rounds in 2017 in his lone fight in Japan. Tuolehazi lost his first two pro contests and three of his first five but is now riding a 12-fight unbeaten streak. He’s managed to turn his career around and seems to be a bright prospect but will be stepping up in class against Tanaka on New Year’s Eve.
Prediction…
Tanaka is one of Japan’s most exciting boxers and is definitely world class while Tuolehazi has been learning his craft in Asia. Tuolehazi has displayed a fine chin so far but Tanaka’s a solid volume puncher with an excellent chin who may eventually overwhelm the challenger. I’m going with Tanaka’s nonstop, entertaining punching style once again.
Kosei Tanaka vs Wulan Tuolehazi Preview December 31st
Unbeaten WBO World Flyweight Champion Kosei Tanaka of Japan will be defending his title for the third time this Tuesday, December 31st when he takes on Wulan Tuolehazi of China. The 12-round bout takes place in Ota City, Tokyo. Tanaka last fought in August when he stopped Jonathan Gonzalez in the seventh round. Tuolehazi was last in the ring in October when he stopped Satoshi Tanaka in the fifth round to retain his WBA International Flyweight Title. Tanaka won the title by majority decision against Sho Kimura in September last year in my pick as 2018’s fight of the year. He defended the crown in March by unanimous decision against fellow countryman Ryoichi Taguchi then retained it against Gonzalez.
Tanaka is just 24 years old and is already been a world champion in three different weight classes. He’s fought just 14 times as a pro and owns a perfect record of 14-0 along with 8 Kos. In fact, he and Vasyl Lomachenko share the world record for the fewest fights to become three-weight world champions. Tanaka is well known for his volume punching and aggression and is an extremely exciting boxer to watch. He turned pro in 2013 after a fine amateur career and has boxed 115 rounds since.
Tanaka won the vacant WBO Minimumweight Title in 2015 with a unanimous decision over Julian Yedras and defended it once. He stopped Moises Fuentes in the fifth round a year later to capture the vacant WBO Light Flyweight Title and defended it against Angel Acosta and Rangsan Chayanram and added his third title against Kimura. Tanaka stands just over 5-feet-4-inches tall and has a wingspan of 63.5 inches. His knockout ratio is currently 57 per cent but he typically overwhelms his opponents with his non-stop punching.
Tuolehazi is a 26-year-old with a mark of 13-3-1 with 6 Kos. He made his pro debut in 2015 and has 131 rounds of experience under his belt. He doesn’t possess much in the power department with a current knockout ratio of just 35.3 per cent. Since turning pro he’s managed to capture the WBC Silver, the interim WBO Asia Pacific, and the WBA International Flyweight Titles. Tuolehazi stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 66-inch reach so has an inch height advantage on Tanaka and a 2.5-inch edge in reach.
Tuolehazi has been beaten by Xian Qian Wei, Van Thao Tran and Jian Wang all by decision with his lone draw coming with Takeshi Kaneko over six rounds in 2017 in his lone fight in Japan. Tuolehazi lost his first two pro contests and three of his first five but is now riding a 12-fight unbeaten streak. He’s managed to turn his career around and seems to be a bright prospect but will be stepping up in class against Tanaka on New Year’s Eve.
Prediction…
Tanaka is one of Japan’s most exciting boxers and is definitely world class while Tuolehazi has been learning his craft in Asia. Tuolehazi has displayed a fine chin so far but Tanaka’s a solid volume puncher with an excellent chin who may eventually overwhelm the challenger. I’m going with Tanaka’s nonstop, entertaining punching style once again.
