“Since I was a child, I have dreamed of competing in the professional boxing world,” the 22-year-old Reito Tsutsumi told The Ring last month. “My ultimate goal is to become the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.” But if you know anything about Tsutsumi—a slick boxer from Chiba City and the younger brother of rising star Hayato Tsutsumi (who’s already 6-0 at junior lightweight)—you know he’s got the skills to back it up. Now, the wait is almost over as he’ll face off against Levale Whittington in a six-round featherweight showdown in his professional boxing debut.

Being talked about as Japan’s boxing prodigy, Reito Tsutsumi is all set to make his pro debut on May 2 on the undercard of the Fatal Fury pay-per-view, featuring Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez all in action at Times Square in New York. Even though both Tsutsumi and Whittington are still pretty new names to the boxing world, there’s already a lot of buzz around this matchup. So let’s dive into their stats, records, and everything in between — and figure out who might walk away with the win when these two step into the ring next month!

Predicting Reito Tsutsumi vs. Levale Whittington: Who has better stats and record?

Reito Tsutsumi has been living and breathing boxing for the past eight years. His amateur record? A rock-solid 59 wins, just 2 losses. He’s not just stacking up wins either; Tsutsumi grabbed a gold medal at the 2021 World Youth Championships and even competed at the 2021 World Championships. No wonder earlier this month, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh proudly announced, “I am thrilled to welcome Reito Tsutsumi as our newest brand ambassador for The Ring… I will always make sure to support him personally and through the ring and stay behind him until he becomes a world-champion and become a source of pride for Japan and Asia.”

Now, let’s flip to the other side of the ring: Levale Whittington from Chicago. Information about his amateur record is comparatively scarce. What we do know is that he turned pro in April last year and has fought four times since then. His pro record? 1 win, 2 losses, and 1 draw. His one win came against Michael Turner, a 1st-round TKO in a four-round fight. But since then, it’s been a rough road. His last outing was on February 15, where he went all six rounds against Dennis Thompson but lost on a unanimous decision—all three judges scoring it 58-56 against him.

So, if we’re just looking at experience and skills on paper, Reito Tsutsumi definitely holds the edge over Whittington. But hey, this is boxing — it’s never just about records. There are a bunch of other factors that could flip the script once the bell rings. Let’s dig deeper and see what else could come into play for this May 2 showdown!

Reito Tsutsumi vs. Levale Whittington height, weight comparison, and more

First up—let’s talk about height. Reito Tsutsumi stands at 5’5″ (165 cm), giving his opponent a clear 3-inch advantage with Levale Whittington measuring at 5’8″ (173 cm). But here’s where it gets interesting: Tsutsumi fights southpaw, while Whittington sticks to a traditional orthodox stance. That means we’re in for a classic clash of styles—and if you know anything about boxing, you know that southpaw-orthodox matchups always come with their own wild twists.

As for weight, the official weigh-in hasn’t happened yet. But looking back, Tsutsumi fought his last amateur bout at 125 lbs, while Whittington last weighed 121 lbs in his February bout. So technically, Tsutsumi might have a slight weight edge going into the fight, which could definitely come in handy once the punches start flying.

Now, even though Reito Tsutsumi doesn’t have any professional fight experience yet, he’s still a boxing prodigy. That’s exactly why he’s the overwhelming betting favorite, sitting at 98%, while Whittington trails way behind at just 2%. With the way things are lining up, a Tsutsumi win by unanimous decision seems pretty likely.

But what do you think? Do you agree with the prediction? Could Whittington pull off a massive upset and shock everyone?