Anthony Olascuaga faces Jukiya Iimura on Sunday, March 15, live from BUNTAI Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan. The world championship showdown headlines U-Next Boxing 5.
Los Angeles native Olascuaga (11-1, 8 KOs) makes the fifth defense of his WBO flyweight title, following a stoppage victory over Taku Kuwahara last December. Japan’s Iimura (9-1, 2 KOs) makes his first attempt to become a champion, having scored two decision wins last year.
The Olascuaga vs Iimura undercard includes:
- Filipino four-division champion Nonito Donaire (43-9, 28 KOs) facing Japan’s Riku Masuda (9-1, 8 KOs) in a final eliminator for the WBA bantamweight title.
- Thammanoon Niyomtrong (29-1, 11 KOs) of Thailand making the first defense of his WBC light flyweight title against Shokichi Iwata (15-2, 12 KOs) of Japan.
- Ryusei Matsumoto (7-0, 4 KOs) of Japan defending his WBA “Regular” minimumweight title in a rematch against Filipino-born Tokyo-based Yuni Takada (16-9-3, 6 KOs).
- Hayato Aiko (2-2) battling fellow Japanese Natsuki Kuramochi (1-0) in a featherweight event opener.
Olascuaga vs Iimura results
Get Olascuaga vs Iimura full fight card results below.
- Anthony Olascuaga def. Jukiya Iimura by KO (R9, 1:19)
- Riku Masuda def. Nonito Donaire by TKO (R8, 1:12)
- Shokichi Iwata def. Thammanoon Niyomtrong by unanimous technical decision (R8, 1:33, 79-73, 79-73 78-74)*
- Ryusei Matsumoto def. Yuni Takada by unanimous decision (120-108, 120-108, 120-108)
- Hayato Aiko vs. Natsuki Kuramochi – split draw (39-37, 37-39, 38-38)
*Fight was stopped due to a cut Niyomtrong suffered over his left eye from an accidental headbutt
Olascuaga vs Iimura live blog
Riku Masuda TKOs Nonito Donaire in eighth round
Riku Masuda (10-1, 9 KOs) defeats Nonito Donaire (43-10, 28 KOs) by eighth-round TKO to win a final eliminator for WBA bantamweight title. The stoppage came at 1:12 of the round as Donaire’s corner threw in the towel.
Anthony Olascuaga stops Jukiya Iimura in ninth round to retain title
Anthony Olascuaga (12-1, 9 KOs) dominates and stops Jukiya Iimura (9-2, 2 KOs) in the ninth round to make the fifth successful defense of his WBO flyweight title.
Olascuaga vs Iimura underway
The title fight between Anthony Olascuaga and Jukiya Iimura is happening now, while Nonito Donaire vs Riku Masuda is set to round out the event.
Shokichi Iwata defeats Thammanoon Niyomtrong by technical decision to take title
Shokichi Iwata (16-2, 12 KOs) defeats Thammanoon Niyomtrong (29-2, 11 KOs) by technical unanimous decision to become the new WBC light flyweight champion. The fight was stopped due to a cut Niyomtrong suffered over his left eye from an accidental headbutt.
The stoppage came at 1:33 of the round. The judges’ scores were 79-73, 79-73, and 78-74.
Ryusei Matsumoto defeats Yuni Takada by decision in rematch to retain title
Ryusei Matsumoto (8-0, 4 KOs) defeats Yuni Takada (16-10-3, 6 KOs) by unanimous decision in their rematch to retain his WBA “Regular” minimumweight title. After 12 rounds, all three judges scored the fight 120-108.
Hayato Aiko vs Natsuki Kuramochi ends in split draw
Kicking off the action, Hayato Aiko (2-2-1) and Natsuki Kuramochi (1-0-1) fight to a split draw in a four-round featherweight bout. The judges scored it 39-37, 37-39, and 38-38.
How to watch and start time
Olascuaga vs Iimura airs live on U‑Next in Japan starting at 3:00 p.m. JST, which is 2:00 a.m. ET in the U.S. A VPN service may be useful for streaming outside Japan.