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Kenshiro Teraji vs. Jonathan Gonzalez Light Flyweight
Unification Showdown April 8
Three light flyweight world titles will be on the line in a
high-stakes unification fight on Saturday, April 8, at
Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
WBC/WBA champion Kenshiro “The Amazing Boy” Teraji and WBO
champ Jonathan “La Bomba” Gonzalez will collide in a
12-round battle that will put one man closer to becoming the
division’s undisputed king.
The five-fight card will also feature Tenshin Nasukawa’s
debut as a professional boxer. The former multi-division
kickboxing world champion will face Yuki Yonaha in a
six-round junior featherweight attraction.
Teraji-Gonzalez, Nasukawa-Yonaha and additional bouts will
stream live and exclusively in the U.S. in the early morning
hours on ESPN+.
Teraji (20-1, 12 KOs) captured his first world title by
defeating Ganigan Lopez for the WBC 108-pound strap. Teraji
made eight defenses before losing the belt via 10th-round
TKO to Masamichi Yabuki. The 31-year-old avenged the loss by
stopping Yabuki in the third round of their rematch to
regain the title. Teraji then notched his most impressive
victory last November by stopping Hiroto Kyoguchi in the
seventh round to unify the WBC and WBA championships.
Gonzalez (27-3-1, 14 KOs) spent years fighting top
opposition at flyweight, including a failed challenge for
Kosei Tanaka’s WBO world title in 2019. The slick southpaw
is unbeaten in five fights since moving down to light
flyweight in 2020. In October 2021, Gonzalez upset Elwin
Soto for the WBO title, which he defended last year against
Mark Anthony Barriga and Shokichi Iwata.
Nasukawa began his pro kickboxing career when he was only 15
and compiled an unbeaten record in more than 40 fights.
Nasukawa also competed in mixed martial arts, but he has
always maintained a strong interest in boxing. In 2018, the
24-year-old participated in a boxing exhibition against
Floyd Mayweather Jr., but his April 8 fight will mark his
first official professional outing. Yonaha (12-4-1, 8 KOs)
is a nine-year veteran who is Japan’s fourth-ranked
bantamweight. The 32-year-old is 5-1 in his last six fights.
In other scheduled action on the ESPN+ stream:
Takuma Inoue (17-1, 4 KOs) vs. Liborio Solis (35-6-1, 16
KOs), 12 rounds, vacant WBA Bantamweight World Title—The
younger brother of pound-for-pound phenom Naoya Inoue has
won four straight fights since challenging Nordine Oubaali
for the WBC crown. Solis, a former junior bantamweight world
champion, will be making his fifth attempt at a bantamweight
world title.
Kiko Martinez (44-11-2, 31 KOs) vs. Reiya Abe (24-3-1, 10
KOs), 12 rounds, IBF Featherweight World Title
Eliminator—Spanish warrior Martinez is a two-weight world
champion who hopes to regain the IBF featherweight crown
currently held by Top Rank’s Luis Alberto Lopez. He is
coming off a stunning fourth-round stoppage over European
champion Jordan Gill. Abe has won five straight fights and
has never been knocked out in the paid ranks.
Jin Sasaki (14-1-1, 13 KOs) vs. Keita Obara (26-4-1, 23
KOs), 12 rounds, Sasaki’s WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight
Title.
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