Puerto Rico’s Santiago (15-4, 9 KO) picked up an interim WBO title in 2023 before falling to countryman Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez in a title consolidation four months later. After a quiet 2024, he outclassed heavy hitter Shokichi Iwata at Tokyo’s Kokugikan to win the real belt last March. Jumping right into a unification with WBA titlist and highly touted wunderkind Kyosuke Takami, he once again flipped the script with a split decision victory.
Taniguchi (21-5, 15 KO) took out “Bimbito” Mendez to win the WBO minimumweight title, stopped an overweight Kai Ishizawa in his inaugural defense, then got blown to bits by Melvin Jerusalem in a 2023 shocker. He’s 5-1 since, beating weak opposition but notably battling the very capable Thanongsak Simsri to a split decision in their vacant title bout.
Whoever wins here will likely be tapped to face top-rated WBA contender Daiya Kira later this year.
The show will also see former super bantamweight champ Marlon Tapales (41-4, 22 KO) continue down the comeback trail against faded ex-champ Yukinori Oguni (23-4-3, 9 KO). Tapales’ four wins since his 2023 rout at the hands of Naoya Inoue have all come against marginal competition, and though Oguni is a cut above that chaff, it’s not by much; he’s 37, a decade removed from his one-fight title reign, and suffered stoppage defeats in two of his last four.
