Mizuki Hiruta vs Maribel Ramirez Prediction

🔊 Will Mizuki Hiruta disappoint Japanese boxing fans? On January 18, the representative of the Land of the Rising Sun will hold her third defense of the WBO title in the super flyweight division. She will face Mexican Maribel Ramirez, and the fight will take place in Commerce, California. Bookmakers are giving the challenger no chance, making the champion a heavy favorite.

🥊 Mizuki Hiruta

The 28-year-old athlete has not been on the professional ring for four years, but she has already become one of the main rising stars. In her second professional fight, she became the Japanese champion in the flyweight division, which immediately led her to a WBO title shot, skipping a weight class. In the battle for the vacant belt, Hiruta defeated compatriot Kanako Taniyama and then made two successful defenses - against the veteran American Casey Croft and South Korean Park Ji Hyun. Notably, Mizuki finished off her last couple of opponents early.

🥊 Maribel Ramirez

It can be confidently stated that the best times for the 38-year-old Mexican are far behind. She once fought for the WBC world championship title, but did not win it, and that was more than 10 years ago. Her last title fight to date was in 2017 when "Panther" became the champion of Mexico. Since then, she has suffered only one loss in seven fights, but often shared the ring with clearly overmatched opponents. Maribel's record (15-10-4) indicates that she does not belong to the category of elite fighters.

📝 Editorial Prediction

This is a typical bout between a bright prospect and a journeyman. The Japanese fighter is significantly younger, more ambitious, more technical, and stronger than her opponent, and she also has a considerable advantage in terms of anthropometry. The only factors that might hinder Mizuki from defending her title are a year-long layoff and her first experience fighting outside her home country. However, in our opinion, these are unlikely to be serious obstacles for the champion. We believe ten rounds will be enough for Hiruta to knock out the Mexican and secure her third consecutive early victory. Based on this, we recommend betting on the fight not reaching the final 2-minute mark, at very attractive odds.