Willibaldo Garcia Perez vs Kenshiro Teraji Preview Dec. 27th, 2025
IBF Junior Bantamweight Champion Willibaldo Garcia Perez of Mexico will be battling it out with former two-division champion Kenshiro Teraji of Japan this Saturday, December 27th as the challenger attempts to win a world title in a third weight class. Teraji is a former Ring, WBA ‘Super’ and WBC Jr. Flyweight Champion who was also a WBC and WBA Flyweight Beltholder. He last fought and lost his flyweight titles in July when he dropped a controversial split decision to Ricardo Sandoval after decking him midway through the fight. Perez last saw action in May when he beat Rene Calixto by split decision in a rematch to take the IBF Junior Bantamweight Crown. Perez and Calixto first met last December and battled to a draw for the vacant belt. This week’s 12-rounder from Saudi Arabia can be seen live in most nations on DAZN pay-per-view.
Perez vs Teraji Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Willibaldo Garcia Perez +325
- Kenshiro Teraji -450
My Pick
The 35-year-old Perez makes the ring walk with a record of 23-6-2 with 13 Ko’s and has boxed 177 rounds since making his pro debut back in 2017. He stands 5-feet-4-inches tall but unfortunately there’s no reach information for him so we don’t know how mush of an advantage or disadvantage he has against Teraji in reach. We do know that he’s not the hardest-hitting junior bantamweight out there though but he’s quite respectable as 56.5 per cent of his victories have come by stoppage, including five of his past seven.
He has five defeats on his record with the first coming in 2018 in his second pro fight when he dropped a four-round majority decision to Esteban Camacho Varo after having a point deducted in each of the second and third rounds. In fact, Perez’s pro career got off to a rocky start. After winning his pro debut he lost his next three contests as he also dropped four-round decisions to Rafael Alexander Delgado and Rafael Marzan and fought to a three-round no-contest with Jesus Sanchez after Sanchez was unable to continue following an accidental foul.
Perez then drew his seventh pro outing in a six-rounder with Misael Gracia Acevedo. Also in 2018. His next loss came at the hands of Alexandro Santiago via a 10-round majority decision in a shot at the WBC International Bantamweight Title in 2020. Perez then fought for the vacant WBO International Bantamweight belt in 2021 against Paul Butler but was dropped in the first round and was edged by a 10-round split decision. He did manage to capture the IBF Latino Super Flyweight Title in 2023 via an eighth-round TKO over Marlon Rios Sarinana. He also has wins over Victor Mendez, Oscar Nery Plata and Dewayne Beamon.
The 33-year-old ‘Amazing Boy’ Teraji of Kyoto won his WBC Light Flyweight Title from Ganigan Lopez via majority decision in 2017 in just his 10th pro fight. He defended it by majority decision over Pedro Guevara, a fourth-round stoppage of Gilberto Pedroza and a first-round KO over Lopez in their rematch. He followed up with a seventh-round stoppage over Milan Melindo before beating Saul Juarez by unanimous decision and then stopping Jonathan Taconing and Randy Petalcorin both in four rounds. Teraji then downed Tetsuya Hisada via a unanimous decision before losing to Masamichi Yabuki in their first fight in an upset in 2022 when he was stopped on his feet in the 10th round.
Teraji rebounded well from his lone first loss by stopping Yabuki in the third round in their rematch six months later and then halting the previously-unbeaten world champion Hiroto Kyoguchi in the seventh round to take his WBA “Super” Light Flyweight Crown and The Ring version. Teraji defended both belts by stopping Anthony Olascuaga in the ninth round and against former world champion Hekkie Budler in the same round in 2023. In January, 2024 Teraji defended the belt once more via a majority decision over Carlos Canizales. Teraji then moved up to the flyweight division and stopped Cristofer Rosales in the 11th round to take the vacant WBC Flyweight Belt.
The baby-faced Teraji has boxed 209 rounds since turning pro in 2014. After all of his recent action, he makes the ring walk with an impressive record of 25-2 with 16 Ko’s despite running into a little bit of trouble outside of the ring a few years ago. He’s not really known as a one-punch knockout artist but 64 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including six of his past seven and eight of the last 10. His power shouldn’t be underestimated though especially when combined with his speed. Teraji stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 64.5-inch reach for an inch edge in height on Perez. He’s displayed a solid chin so far and possesses fine boxing skills against quality opposition as none of his 27 opponents entered the ring with a losing record as he basically jumped in feet first as a pro.
Prediction…
Perez is quite durable and experienced with enough power to cause some damage and all of his defeats have been by very close decisions. Teraji is a fine counter-puncher and is extremely quick but he sometimes throws defence out of the window and just lets his hands go. He’s certainly going to have to throw a lot of leather to beat Perez, but he can’t afford to get hit too often. I’m expecting a close battle here with Teraji pulling it out for another world title, likely via a somewhat controversial decision.
Teraji needs to assert himself each round.
Play: Teraji -450 @ BetOnline.ag
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Kenshiro Teraji betting • Willibaldo Garcia Perez betting