TOKYO TAKEOVER: IS ANTHONY OLASCUAGA AMERICA’S BEST OVERSEAS CHAMPION
Anthony Olascuaga ends 2025 with a brutal 4th-round TKO over Taku Kuwahara. Can the WBO king unify the flyweight division in 2026?
Anthony Olascuaga, currently the most active major titleholder from America, scored another win overseas.
In Tokyo, Olascuaga ended 2025 strong with his third victory of the year and his fourth title defense overall. He defeated Taku Kuwahara with a fourth-round TKO. Olascuaga, the WBO 112 lb titleholder, landed a series of powerful shots that left Kuwahara unable to defend himself, causing the fight to be stopped at 2:35 of the fourth round at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Even though he's based in Los Angeles, Olascuaga seemed right at home fighting abroad for the sixth time in his last seven fights. Half of his career has taken place in Tokyo, including his title-winning fourth-round knockout of Riku Kano at the same arena on July 20 last year.
Kuwahara, from Yokohama, 14-3 (9 KOs), had promised to be Olascuaga's toughest opponent so far. His only losses were to Seigo Yurki Akui, both before and during Akui's previous reign as WBA 112 lb titleholder.
Akui has since lost his belt but came back with a third-round knockout on the undercard of Wednesday's show.
There were moments when Kuwahara, who is represented by Ohashi Promotions, lived up to his claim, especially when he could find his range and use his straight right hands. But, this didn't happen often enough against Olascuaga, who was stronger and landed more punches with greater force.
The beginning of the end for Kuwahara came in the final minute of the fourth round. Olascuaga, 11-1 (8 KOs), was spot on with his left hook and drove Kuwahara across the ring. Kuwahara was trapped in a corner as Olascuaga unloaded right hands around his guard and left hooks.
Kuwahara managed to get out of the corner, but with his gloves pinned to his face and not throwing any punches back, the referee, Robert Hoyle, stepped in to stop the fight.
Olascuaga has now defended his WBO 112 lb title four times in the 17 months he's held it. Three of those defenses happened in 2025, including a rare title fight in the U.S. when he knocked out Juan Carlos Camacho in two rounds on September 11 in Las Vegas.
That fight was part of a U-Next tripleheader, which was headlined by the Seiya Tsutsumi vs. Nonito Donaire WBA 118 lb title unification bout.
XANDER ZAYAS EMERGES AS TOP TARGET FOR JARON ENNIS’S NEXT MAJOR SHOWDOWN
Eddie Hearn confirms Jaron "Boots" Ennis is in talks to fight Xander Zayas in June after the Vergil Ortiz deal collapsed.
Eddie Hearn just shared that Jaron “Boots” Ennis’s next fight is around the corner, with talks heating up for a showdown with Xander Zayas.
After unifying the WBA and IBF welterweight belts against Eimantas Stanionis back in April 2025, Ennis jumped to 154 pounds. He took on Uisma Lima in his debut at that weight and sailed through, which got fans buzzing about a possible match with Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Matchroom and Golden Boy Promotions started negotiating for Ennis-Ortiz, but things got messy. Ortiz’s manager, Rick Mirigian, wasn’t happy with the purse Golden Boy offered, sparking tension between Ortiz and his promoter. Ortiz declared himself a free agent, filed a lawsuit against Golden Boy, and tried to strike a deal with Ennis on his own.
Golden Boy responded by getting a restraining order to stop Ortiz from negotiating elsewhere, putting those talks to bed. So Hearn began looking elsewhere, and now Zayas, who holds the WBA and WBO titles, is in the mix. With Top Rank announcing a broadcast partnership with DAZN and Matchroom already tied to DAZN, lining up Zayas vs Ennis looks easier than ever.
“We’re definitely talking,” Hearn told BoxingScene. “Honestly, we were so close to getting the Ortiz fight. We even started planning media tours; it was that far along. Now, with DAZN and Top Rank teaming up and our good relationship with Top Rank, we’ve started chatting with Xander Zayas. No media tour this time, but I think that fight could be just as good as the Ortiz one. Zayas is right there.”
He also mentioned Josh Kelly, the IBF champ at 154, saying it’s been a frustrating stretch for Ennis. “Boots was supposed to fight in April or May; now it’s looking like June. But I guarantee he’ll get a big fight next. By the end of next week, we’ll make a decision; Boots’s fight is imminent.”
If Zayas and Ennis do end up facing each other, that could leave Kelly without an opponent for his first title defence. After beating Bakhram Murtazaliev in January, Kelly said he wanted a unification bout with Zayas.
“Yeah, Kelly’s still up for it, and Zayas likes the idea too,” Hearn said. “But honestly, there’s a lot of money in Boots vs Zayas. Kelly could fight Boots as well, and that could happen. I’m fine with Kelly taking a voluntary defence; he just beat Murtazaliev. What more can you ask for? Murtazaliev, then Boots? That’s a tough path, so we’ll see. But Kelly is up for big fights as well. Conversations are ongoing, and it’s a top priority.”
DISCOVER THE STUNNING DETAILS BEHIND THE "AGREED" TYSON FURY VS ANTHONY JOSHUA 2026 DEAL
Anthony Joshua eyes a summer return after recovering from a tragic car crash, setting up a late-year clash with Tyson Fury.
Tyson Fury's coming back to the ring on April 11, 2026. He’s taking on Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the fight's streaming on Netflix. It'll be his first match since losing twice to Oleksandr Usyk; the last one was their rematch in December 2024.
After that defeat, Fury retired. He didn’t stay away for long, though 15 months later, he’s jumping back in. He's still thinking about making moves outside boxing. He’s talked about fighting former UFC champ Jon Jones and shared some thoughts about where his career might go.
In a chat with SPORTbible, he opened up about picking Makhmudov, what drives him, and what the future might look like.
Fury’s Reason for Choosing Makhmudov and the Joshua Fight Everyone Wants
Fury made this fight happen for a reason. Makhmudov packs serious power; he’s got 19 knockouts in 23 pro fights. Fury wanted to face someone tough.
“It takes someone of that calibre,” Fury said.
Makhmudov lost to Guido Vianello and Agit Kabayel but bounced back with wins over Ricardo Brown and David Allen.
If Fury wins, all eyes go right back to that long-hyped fight with Anthony Joshua. Joshua’s also planning a comeback this summer, at least according to Matchroom Boxing’s Frank Smith.
“If the fight can be made, let’s get it on like Donkey Kong,” Fury said.
He hasn’t talked to Joshua yet, though.
“I’ve had no contact with him at all.”
Fury Isn’t Done, And He’s Not Sure He Ever Will Be
Even though Fury keeps talking about retirement, he says boxing is still at the heart of everything.
“My true love’s always been boxing, and it’s always been my passion,” he said.
“So until it’s not any more… then I can go into full-time TV doing Netflix and s***.”
Does he need to fight? Not really. He does it for the thrill, not for the cash or fame.
“I’m in a position where I don’t need to box. I don’t need to do anything. I could drink beer all day if I wanted to. But I’m not interested. I like boxing. I’ve always liked boxing.”
He figures he’ll stick around for years yet.
“I’ll probably continue to do it well into my late 40s. It’s just something that I’ve been in love with. I’ve tried to get away from it so many times, and I’ve been unsuccessful. It’s an addiction. Boxing’s an addiction.”
MMA, the Jones Fight, and Who Knows What’s Next
Fury looked into mixed martial arts plenty of times.
“I’ve tried to do it about ten times,” he said.
But things just never lined up, at least not yet.
“For one reason or another, it hasn’t happened. [It would take] the right amount of money. But it always takes cold, hard cash, baby.”
He’s got his eye on Jon Jones, maybe. The former UFC champ could be next on Fury’s wild ride.
“You never know,” Fury said. “Anyone can beat anybody on any day. Nothing’s impossible, is it?”
