Iwata vs Santiago

Who won Iwata vs Santiago?

Rene Santiago beat Shokichi Iwata by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest on Thursday, March 13th, 2025, at Ryoguko Kokugikan Arena, Tokyo.

The scorecards were announced as 116-112, 117-111, 118-110 in favor of winner Rene Santiago.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Jr Flyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 108 pounds (7.7 stone or 49 kg).

This contest was for the WBO jr flyweight championship of the world.

Santiago was defending his his WBO World Junior Flyweight Championship for the first time. He won this belt against Shokichi Iwata in March 2025. He had held this belt for 1 month and 12 days.

This fight appeared on the undercard of Kenshiro Teraji beating Seigo Yuri Akui for the WBC World Flyweight and WBA World Flyweight championship. Also on the undercard Anthony Olascuaga defeated Hiroto Kyoguchi for the WBO World Flyweight belt.

Iwata vs Santiago stats

Shokichi Iwata stepped into the ring with a record of 14 wins, 1 loss, and 0 draws, 11 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Rene Santiago made his way to the ring with a record of 13 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, with 9 of those wins by knockout.

The stats suggested Iwata had a slight advantage in power over Santiago, with a 79% knockout percentage compared to Santiago's 69%.

Shokichi Iwata was the younger man by 4 years, at 29 years old.

Iwata had a height advantage of 1 inch over Santiago.

Both Shokichi Iwata and Rene Santiago fought out of an orthodox stance.

Iwata was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 2 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2018, 4 years later than Santiago, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 1 fewer professional rounds, totaling 105 compared to Santiago's 106.

Rene Santiago was ranked number 2 by the WBO in the 108lb division.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Rene Santiago had been fighting more than Shokichi Iwata.

Going into this contest, Shokichi Iwata had last fought 5 months ago, while Rene Santiago's last outing had been 4 months and 11 days ago.

Iwata's last 2 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 4 months and 12 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 1 year, 2 months and 7 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 7.5 rounds on average.

Santiago's last 2 fights had come over a period of 1 year and 11 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 7 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 22 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 11 rounds on average.

What time did Iwata vs Santiago start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 9:00 AM UTC at Ryoguko Kokugikan Arena, Tokyo, Japan, which was 5:00 AM EST or 2:00 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 9:00 AM GMT in the UK.

Who broadcast Iwata vs Santiago?

Iwata vs Santiago was broadcast on Sky Sports Action in the UK, while the fight was broadcast in the United States by ESPN+.

What were the odds on Iwata vs Santiago?

Sorry, we couldn’t find any historical odds for Iwata vs Santiago.