BoxRec

Kenshiro Teraji-Carlos Canizalez Tops January 23 Title Fight Doubleheader In Osaka

Kenshiro Teraji will aim to clear out another mandatory title defense ahead of his continued pursuit to fully unify the division.

BS.com has confirmed that the reigning lineal, WBC and WBA junior flyweight king will next face former secondary titlist Carlos Canizales. The scheduled twelve-round bout will top a title fight doubleheader to air January 23 on Amazon Prime-Japan from EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan.

Teiken Promotions and Amazon confirmed the show on Thursday afternoon in Tokyo. A U.S. platform was not mentioned during the announcement, though it is believed that the show will air on ESPN+.

The evening’s chief support will pit WBA flyweight titlist Artem Dalakian versus mandatory challenger Seigo Yuri Akui.

Teraji (22-1, 14KOs) will attempt the fourth defense of his second and current championship reign and fifteenth overall title fight. He’d previously hoped to face WBO titlist Jonathan ‘Bomba’ Gonzalez earlier this April but the bout was canceled when the Puerto Rican southpaw fell ill and could not make the trip abroad.

Both were since burdened with mandatory titles defenses, including back-to-back for Teraji. Former two-division titlsit Hekkie Budler was the WBC number-one contender and overdue for his title shot which came on September 18 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Teraji won via ninth-round knockout, as was the case in an April title defense versus unbeaten Anthony Olascuaga, a late replacement for Gonzalez.

Venezuela’s Canizales (26-1-1, 19KOs) previously held the secondary WBA ‘Regular’ title, which he conceded to Mexico’s Esteban Bermudez in an upset May 2021 knockout defeat on the road in Mexico City. Canizales was unbeaten at the time but hadn’t fought in two years.

Four wins have since followed for the Caracas native, including a technical decision win over unbeaten Daniel Mattellon in their June 9 WBA title eliminator on the road in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The well traveled Canizales has not fought at home since September 2017; the title bid versus Teraji will mark his ninth straight road trip.

Dalakian (22-0, 15KOs) also once again fights away from home. The 35-year-old Azerbaijan-born boxer who lives in Kiev was sidelined for more than a year due to the ongoing Russian invasion of his homeland. It also left him without a home for his previously ordered mandatory title defense versus unbeaten David Jimenez.

A deal was reached with Queensberry Promotions to land the fight on the January 28 Artur Beterbiev-Anthony Yarde undercard at OVO Arena Wembley in London. Dalakian claimed a twelve-round, unanimous decision victory.

His title reign dates back to a February 2018 points win over former two-division champ Brian Viloria at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The bout was his lone fight outside of Ukraine prior to the win over Jimenez.

Japan’s Akui (18-2-1, 11KOs) will enter his first career title fight, though the 27-year-old has already faced championship level competition. It came earlier in his career and in back-to-back fights, predating the respective title reigns of countryman Junto Nakatani—against whom Akui suffered a sixth-round technical knockout defeat in August 2017—and Masamichi Yabuki, whom Akui stopped in just 92 seconds.

Nakatani went on to become a two-division titlist and currently holds the WBO junior bantamweight title. Yabuki upset then-unbeaten WBC junior lightweight titlist Kenshiro Teraji in their terrific September 2021 slugfest, but lost the title to Teraji in their immediate rematch last March 18 in Kyoto, Japan.

Akui has won six in a row, including a ten-round decision over undefeated Jayson Vayson on February 4 at the famed Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

The show will also include the next step in the career of former kickboxing superstar Tenshin Nasukawa (2-0, 1KO) and a domestic battle between Kyoto’s Yuki Yonaha (13-5-1, 8KOs) and Osaka’s Juiki Tatsuyoshi.

Yonaha is best known as the opponent for Nasukawa’s pro debut. The unbeaten Tatsuyoshi (14-0-1, 10KOs) is a second-generation boxer and current junior featherweight prospect. His father is Joichiro Tatsuyoshi (20-7-1, 14KOs), a wildly popular former two-time WBC bantamweight champion during the 1990s.

Next Tuesday!

Can we not watch this on Amazon Prime in the UK?

Gran Hermano wrote: ↑21 Jan 2024, 08:54 Can we not watch this on Amazon Prime in the UK?

When it’s on Prime in Japan it’s never on Prime in UK.

I saw this listed as being live on sky sports arena. Ireland and UK. Can’t see it in the listings though, yet

MightyWarrior wrote: ↑21 Jan 2024, 17:08 I saw this listed as being live on sky sports arena. Ireland and UK. Can’t see it in the listings though, yet

Yeh I mean technically, it's TR isn't it?

MightyWarrior wrote: ↑21 Jan 2024, 17:08 I saw this listed as being live on sky sports arena. Ireland and UK. Can’t see it in the listings though, yet

Where did you see it listed? And what time for?

It was on one of those multiple “where to watch it” links that come up online…wrong info it seems

I’ll see if I can find an ESPN link

Carlos looks ripped like Manny Pac

Both throwing bombs, big right hands

Bang canizalez is over, big right hand lands

he sees out the round

commentator Cristina ponch completely misses the knockdown.

Wow, Carlos is game! on the back foot but throwing bombs… lands and over-goes the champion bell rings

Forgot all about this haha

Great fight so far. No way it goes the distance because they are just hammering each other

One of the rounds of the year. Both playing the lottery, looking to land the finishing punch

Bombs away - this one’s gonna end suddenly and very soon.

Date: January 23, 2024
Location: Edion Arena Osaka - 3 Chome-4-36 Nanbanaka, Naniwa Ward, Osaka 556-0011, Japan
US Stream: ESPN+
Start Time: 5 am ET | 2 am PT | 10 am GMT

Fight Card

Unified WBA & WBC Light Flyweight Championship
Kenshiro Teraji vs. Carlos Canizales

WBA Flyweight Championship
Artem Dalakian vs. Seigo Yuri Akui

8 Round super Bantamweight Bout
Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Luis Robles Pacheco

8 Round Super Bantamweight Bout
Yuki Yonaha vs. Juiki Tatsuyoshi

4 Round Super Lightweight Bout
Ruiji Takenaka vs. Koki Oda

4 Round Super Welterweight Bout
Toshiki Fujiwara vs. Seiya Nishioka

These two are fighting like it’s all even and the last round.

The champion looks stronger like he’s wearing Carlos down

but gets hurt in the last 10 seconds

It’s becoming a war of attrition, or maybe it was that from the start
both showing great resilience

Teraji is wearing him down but Canizalez keeps coming back

Either one of these two vs Bam Rodriquez would be a great fight but I can't see Teraji staying at 112 after this.

Had to leave and came back. I can’t believe this is still going. This is gonna seriously take something out of both fighters.

Amazing will to win

refusing to lose

Really should be a draw. Teraji will get the decision but shouldn’t be more than a round or two difference. Teraji must have figured he had it because he did nothing in round 12

Fair scores. Always tough to get decisions on the road, which for South American fighters is always going to be the case. Cañizalez was the stronger fighter at the end.

giacomino wrote: ↑23 Jan 2024, 09:02 Fair scores. Always tough to get decisions on the road, which for South American fighters is always going to be the case. Cañizalez was the stronger fighter at the end.

Unlike the US, japan isn't really known for their robberies.
Fair scores for sure.

ken deserved the close decision but was expecting a more comfortable win from him tbh