Rene Santiago defends his unified WBA and WBO light flyweight titles against Masataka Taniguchi, live from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Friday, April 3. The 12-round bout headlines Treasure Boxing Promotion 12.
Puerto Rico’s Santiago (15-4, 9 KOs) unified the belts last December on the Tsutsumi vs Donaire undercard, taking a split decision against Kyosuke Takami. Japan’s former WBO minimumweight champion Taniguchi (21-5, 15 KOs) aims to become a two-weight champion following a fifth-round TKO over Takeru Inoue in his previous outing last August.
In the co-feature, Japanese former IBF super bantamweight champion Yukinori Oguni (23-4-3, 9 KOs) takes on Filipino two-division world champion Marlon Tapales (41-4, 22 KOs). The bout is scheduled for 10 rounds at featherweight.
On the Santiago vs Taniguchi undercard, Tsukuru Midorikawa (5-0, 3 KOs) meets Japanese fellow Hisashi Kato (13-14-2, 8 KOs) in a 10-round super welterweight bout.
An all-Japanese six-round middleweight matchup pits Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa (14-8-1, 11 KOs) against Ryusei Kurobe (1-0).
The event opener is a four-round super featherweight bout between Japan’s Kenshin Ogami (1-1-1, 1 KO) and Jonathan Galetto (0-0-1) of Argentina.
Santiago vs Taniguchi results
- Rene Santiago def. Masataka Taniguchi by unanimous decision (115-113, 116-112, 117-110)
- Yukinori Oguni def. Marlon Tapales by unanimous decision (96-94, 97-93, 98-92)
- Tsukuru Midorikawa def. Hisashi Kato by TKO (R7, 2:12)
- Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa def. Ryusei Kurobe by majority decision (77-75, 77-75, 76-76)
- Kenshin Ogami def. Jonathan Galetto by TKO (R2)
Santiago vs Taniguchi live blog
Rene Santiago defeats Masataka Taniguchi by decision
Rene Santiago (16-4, 9 KOs) defeats Masataka Taniguchi (21-6, 15 KOs) by unanimous decision. After 12 rounds, the judges scored the fight 115-113, 116-112, and 117-110.
With the victory, Puerto Rico’s Santiago retains his unified WBA and WBO light flyweight titles.
Japan’s Taniguchi falls short in his attempt to become a two-division world champion.
Yukinori Oguni defeats Marlon Tapales by decision
Yukinori Oguni (24-4-3, 9 KOs) defeats Marlon Tapales (41-5, 22 KOs) by unanimous decision at featherweight. After 10 rounds, the judges scored the fight 96-94, 97-93, and 98-92.
Tsukuru Midorikawa TKOs Hisashi Kato in seventh round
Tsukuru Midorikawa (6-0, 4 KOs) defeats Hisashi Kato (13-15-2, 8 KOs) by seventh-round TKO at super welterweight.
Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa defeats Ryusei Kurobe by decision
Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa (15-8-1, 11 KOs) defeats Ryusei Kurobe (1-1) by majority decision at middleweight. After eight rounds, the judges scored the fight 77-75, 77-75, and 76-76.
Kenshin Ogami TKOs Jonathan Galetto in second round
In the event opener, Kenshin Ogami (2-1-1, 2 KOs) defeats Jonathan Galetto (0-1-1) by second-round TKO at super featherweight.
How to watch and start time
Santiago vs Taniguchi airs live on U-Next in Japan, starting at 5:15 p.m. JST local time, which is 4:15 a.m. ET / 1:15 a.m. PT in the U.S.
A VPN service, such as ExpressVPN, may be useful for streaming internationally.