KENSHIRO TERAJI-SEIGO YURI AKUI UNIFICATION BOUT TOPS MARCH 13 TITLE FIGHT TRIPLEHEADER IN TOKYO
Tokyo will host a title fight tripleheader and the arrival of the defending Major League Baseball World Series champions all in the same weeklong span.
As previously reported by The Ring, Kenshiro Teraji (24-1, 15 KOs) and Seigo Yuri Akui (21-2-1, 11 KOs) are set to meet in a WBC/WBA flyweight title unification bout. It will headline a March 13 title fight tripleheader on Japan U-Next streaming service from Ryoguko Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Teiken Promotions formally announced the event on Monday. Teraji-Akui is accompanied by another 112-pound title fight between defending WBO claimant Anthony Olascuaga (8-1, 6 KOs), The Ring’s No. 8 flyweight who defends against former RING/WBA 108-pound champ Hiroto Kyoguchi (19-2, 12 KOs).
Rounding out the tripleheader and as reported by The Ring on Friday, Shokichi Iwata (14-1, 11 KOs), The Ring’s No. 2 junior flyweight, risks his WBO belt against mandatory challenger Rene Santiago (13-4, 9 KOs).
The event was moved up from its original March 24 working date to better accommodate the 2025 MLB World Tour Tokyo Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers—who feature Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamato—will open the 2025 season against the Chicago Cubs on March 18 in Tokyo.
Teraji and Akui are rated No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, by The Ring. Mexico’s Angel Ayala (18-0, 8 KOs), the reigning IBF titleholder, is the only flyweight rated above them but currently in negotiations with both mandatory challenger Felix Alvarado (42-4, 35 KOs) and IBF junior flyweight titlist Masamichi Yabuki (17-4, 16 KOs).
For now, Teraji will enjoy remaining in rare company.
The all-action fighter is involved in two of just three all-Japanese unification bouts in the nation’s history. He brutalized a then-unbeaten Kyoguchi for an eighth-round knockout in their Nov. 2022 WBC/WBA 108-pound title unification bout. Teraji also won The Ring championship and held it until last June when he announced his intention to campaign at flyweight.
The lone other unification bout between defending titleholders from Japan came more than ten years earlier. Kazuto Ioka (31-3-1, 16 KOs) was an unbeaten WBC strawweight titlist when he edged then-WBA title claimant Akira Yaeagshi in their June 2012 instant classic.
Fast forward to present day, Teraji attempts his first defense of the WBC flyweight belt he won in an eleventh-round knockout of former titleholder Cristofer Rosales on Oct. 13 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. It was part of a two-night, seven title bout extravaganza hosted at the venue.
That same card saw Iwata and Akui also post wins. Iwata won the vacant WBO 108-pound title in a third-round knockout over then-unbeaten Jairo Noriega (14-0, 3 KOs) last Oct. 13 in Tokyo. His placement on the March 13 show marks his first defense, while Santiago enters his second title challenge in just over a year. He fell short against Jonathan ‘Bomba’ Gonzalez for the same title last March 2 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
His title haul came on the same night that saw Teraji (24-1, 15 KOs) and Akui (21-2-1, 11 KOs) post wins.
Olascauga returns to the site of his first title win. He claimed the WBO flyweight belt in a third-round knockout of Riku Kano (22-4-2) on July 20 at this location. The card was topped by three-division and reigning WBC bantamweight titlist Junto Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs), The Ring No. 1 bantamweight and Olascauga’s training stablemate.
Both boxers are guided by Rudy Hernandez and also appeared together on the Oct. 14 show at Ariake Arena. Olascuaga, The Ring’s No. 8 flyweight, stopped Gonzalez (28-4-1, 14 KOs) in the first round for his first title defense.
Kyoguchi has won three of his last four starts since his humbling defeat to Teraji.
His lone loss over that period came in a controversial ten-round unanimous decision in favor of the Philippines’ Vince Paras (22-3-1, 16 KOs) last May 11 in Incheon, South Korea. Kyoguchi exacted revenge in a ten-round, majority decision win last Oct. 13 in Yokohama, Japan.
U.S. streaming rights were not confirmed as this goes to publications. The majority of Teiken’s major shows have enjoyed Top Rank and ESPN+ as a partner, though those same events also included Amazon Prime-Japan service.
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