Dennis Hogan v Yuki Nonaka – All you need to know
Tomorrow morning Dennis Hogan will look to move within touching distance of a world title fight.
The Kildare light middleweight faces Japanese champion Yuki Nonaka over 10 rounds in Brisbane, topping a bill titled ‘It’s Time’ at the city’s Convention Centre.
The biggest fight of the weekend in Irish boxing, the pair successfully made weight today, and below we outline everything you need to know about the match-up.
What’s Dennis Hogan been up to?
Hogan [25(7)-1(0)-1] has had a frustrating enough past year.
Following his loss to Jack Culcay in Germany back in December 2015, he returned in a keep-busy against Angel Hernandez in America in April 2016. Toward the end of the year Hogan won and defended the WBO Oriental title against Samuel Colomban and Yao Yi Ma respectively on points decisions.
Kilcullen 32 year old Hogan has not fought since his win over Ma however, with promotional issues keeping him out of the ring.
‘The Hurricane’ has undergone some changes in that time. Former sponsor Paul Keegan has come on board as Hogan’s new promoter, setting up DPP Sports, with tomorrow’s card being the outfit’s first.
Hogan has also linked up with veteran coach Glenn Rushton, the mastermind behind Jeff Horn’s shock WBO welterweight world title win during the Summer. For this fight, Hogan was Horn’s chief sparring partner.
Is Yuki Nonaka good?
Yes.
A rangey, experienced southpaw, this is probably the toughest fight of Hogan’s career outside of the Culcay fight in Germany.
Nonaka [31(10)-8(1)-3] is undefeated since 2009 and in that time he has won the Japanese title and successfully defended it six times – an impressive feat on the notoriously dog-eat-dog Japanese circuit.
However, the fight will be 39 year old Nonaka’s first outside his native country.
What is the world title situation?
As the fight features two Top 15-ranked boxers it is, by definition, a world title eliminator.
In addition, it looks to be something of a de-facto world title FINAL eliminator.
The division’s current champion is Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, however he looks set to retire should he, as expected, defeat #9 Sadam Ali in New York on December 2nd.
Hogan, who defends his WBO Oriental title for the second time tomorrow, is ranked #7, while Nonaka is #8. The winner in Brisbane will shoot up the rankings
On the other side of the world, in Newcastle on November 11th, #4-ranked Liam Smith faces #2 Liam Williams, and a fight between the winner of this bout and the winner of tomorrow night’s clash has been heavily suggested by multiple parties.
Is the fight a big deal in Australia?
In terms of scale, the fight is the second biggest of the year Down Under following the Manny Pacquiao v Jeff Horn world title fight at the SunCorp Stadium.
The clash at the Brisbane Convention Centre has attracted media attention in the state of Queensland and Australia as a whole, with Hogan featuring across print and TV
An arena fight for which there will be thousands in attendance, it is an ambitious start from DPP Promotions.
Who is on the Hogan v Nonaka undercard?
Unfortunately there is no other Irish talent on the card.
The undercard features a big name in former heavyweight world title challenger Alex Leapai who returns against Thomas Peato
Also on the bill will be:
Rohan Murdock v Said Mbelwa
Herman Ene Purcell v John Szigeti
Deanha Hobbs v Quinita Hati
Rhys Lightning v Adam Copland
What are the odds on the fight?
Not many outlets are offering prices on the fight, however they are in agreement that Hogan is a slight favourite.
With Sportsbook Hogan is 2/5 to get the win, while Nonaka comes in at 2/1
With SportsBet Hogan is 12/25 to win, while Nonaka is 8/5
How can I watch the fight?
The fight will be streamed live via Epicentre TV. A pay-per-view event, the stream costs €6.80.
Coverage starts at 7:00pm local time (10:00am Irish time) – although Hogan is not expected in the ring until a few hours after this
