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Kenshiro Teraji vs. Anthony Olascuaga
Light Flyweight Title Showdown April 8
The show goes on. WBC/WBA light flyweight world champion
Kenshiro “The Amazing Boy” Teraji was supposed to face WBO
champ Jonathan Gonzalez in a three-belt unification tilt
Saturday, April 8, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Gonzalez
withdrew with an illness, and Teraji will now defend his
titles against undefeated American challenger Anthony
Olascuaga.
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-Olascuaga, Nasukawa-Yonaha and additional bouts will
stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at
3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT.
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.
Olascuaga (5-0, 3 KOs), a 24-year-old upstart from Los
Angeles, turned pro in 2020 and won a regional flyweight
belt in his third pro bout. He went 3-0 in 2022, toppling
Gilberto Pedroza by unanimous decision in March, stopping
the previously unbeaten Gustavo Perez Alvarez in six in May,
and icing Marco Sustaita in one round last October. He will
make his 108-pound debut against Teraji.
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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