On May 20, 2018, Ryoichi Taguchi (27-2-2, 12 KOs), the light-flyweight WBA (Unified), IBF, and The Ring champion, defends his titles against former world champion Hekkie Budler (31-3, 10 KOs).
Ryoichi Taguchi is coming in to the fight on a 2-fight win streak with a 38% KO rate; his last fight was a unanimous decision win over Milan Melindo, 4 months and 20 days ago. Hekkie Budler is on a 1-fight losing streak with a 29% KO rate, with his last fight being a split decision loss to Milan Melindo, 8 months and 4 days ago.
This should be a confident win for Ryoichi Taguchi at 99-1 winning odds. Hekkie Budler really doesn't have much to present against Taguchi.
Hekkie Budler defeated Ryoichi Taguchi via unanimous decision and wins the WBA (Super), IBF, and The Ring titles. Budler improves his record to 32-3, while Taguchi adds a loss to his record at 27-3-2.