Mthalane vs Sakamoto

Who won Mthalane vs Sakamoto?

Moruti Mthalane beat Masahiro Sakamoto by technical knockout in the 10th round on Monday, December 31st, 2018, at Wynn Palace Cotai, Macao.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Flyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 112 pounds (8 stone or 50.8 kg).

This contest was for the IBF flyweight championship of the world.

This fight appeared on the undercard of Donnie Nietes' and Kazuto Ioka's clash for the WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship.

Mthalane vs Sakamoto stats

Back in December 2018, Moruti Mthalane stepped into the ring with a record of 36 wins, 2 losses, and 0 draws, 24 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Masahiro Sakamoto made his way to the ring with a record of 13 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, with 9 of those wins by knockout.

The stats suggested Sakamoto had a slight advantage in power over Mthalane, with a 69% knockout percentage compared to Mthalane's 67%.

Moruti Mthalane was the older man by 9 years, at 37 years old.

Both Moruti Mthalane and Masahiro Sakamoto fought out of an orthodox stance.

Mthalane was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 24 more fights, and made his debut in 2000, 14 years earlier than Sakamoto, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 187 more professional rounds, totaling 260 compared to Sakamoto's 73.

Masahiro Sakamoto was ranked number 14 by the IBF in the 112lb division.

Mthalane vs Sakamoto form

Mthalane had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 2 of them, going the distance 3 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had beaten Muhammad Waseem on July 15, 2018, by unanimous decision in their IBF World Flyweight championship fight at Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Prior to that, he had beaten Genisis Libranza on April 28, 2017, by knockout in the 4th round at South Africa, Cape Town, United States.

Going into that contest, he had won against Renz Rosia on December 12, 2015, by technical knockout in the 9th round at Olive Convention Centre, Durban, South Africa.

Before that, he had beaten Odilon Zaleta on October 26, 2014, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at International Convention Centre, Durban.

He had defeated Jether Oliva on March 15, 2014, by split decision in their 12 round contest at Durban International Convention Centre, Durban.

Activity check

Mthalane's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 9 months and 16 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 11 months and 16 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 49 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 9.8 rounds on average.

What time did Mthalane vs Sakamoto start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 10:00 AM UTC at Wynn Palace Cotai, Macao, Macao, which was 5:00 AM EST or 2:00 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 10:00 AM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Mthalane vs Sakamoto?

Moruti Mthalane was a 1/2 (-200) favorite going into the contest, while Masahiro Sakamoto made his way into the ring at 163/100 (+160) with oddsmakers.