Kenshiro Teraji vs Carlos Canizales Preview January 23rd, 2024
The Ring, WBA ‘Super’ and WBC Jr. Flyweight Champion Kenshiro Teraji of Japan will be defending his belts against former Former WBA Light Flyweight Champion Carlos Canizales of Caracas, Venezuela this Tuesday, January 23rd. The 12-rounder from Osaka, Japan can be seen live in America on ESPN+ with the card kicking off about 4am ET. Teraji added the WBA belt to his WBC version in November, 2022 when he stopped fellow countryman Hiroto Kyoguchi in the seventh round in an upset. Teraji had stopped Masamichi Yabuki in the third round in a rematch eight months earlier to regain his WBC Belt after being stopped at the end of the 10th round when the two first met in September, 2021. Teraji had successfully defended the belt eight times times since winning it in 2017 with five of those coming by knockout. His last contest took place in September when he halted former world champion Hekkie Budler in the ninth round. Canizales last boxed in June when he beat Daniel Matellon after eight rounds by technical decision after Matellon couldn’t continue due to a bad cut. Matellon also has a point deducted in the sixth and eighth round for headbutting.
Teraji vs Canizales Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Carlos Canizales +450
- Kenshiro Teraji -700
My Pick
The 32-year-old Teraji of Kyoto originally won his WBC title from Ganigan Lopez via majority decision in May, 2017 in just his 10th pro fight. He then defended it by majority decision over Pedro Guevara, a fourth-round stoppage of Gilberto Pedroza and then a first-round KO over Lopez in their rematch. He followed that 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 Yabuki in their first fight in an uspet in September, 2022 when he was stopped on his feet.
He rebounded well from his lone pro loss with his stoppage wins over Yabuki in the rematch and then halting the previously unbeaten Kyoguchi in the seventh round to take his WBA “Super” Light flyweight crown. He defended both belts by stopping Anthony Olascuaga in the ninth round last April and against Budler in the same round in his last outing in September. The baby-faced Teraji is nicknamed ‘Amazing Boy’ and has boxed 162 rounds since turning pro back in 2014. After all of his recent action, Teraji makes the ring walk with an impressive record of 22-1 with 14 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 63.6 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including four straight and six of the past seven. His power shouldn’t be underestimated though especially when combined with his speed. Teraji stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 64-inch reach. He’s displayed a solid chin so far and possesses fine boxing skills against quality opposition as 22 of his 22 opponents have had winning records and he basically jumped in feet first as a pro. He’s is also a fine counter-puncher with a good defence and is extremely quick.
The 30-year-old Canizales has an equally fine record of 26-1-1 with 19 Ko’s. He won the vacant WBA Light Flyweight Title in 2018 with a unanimous decision over Reiya Konishi and defended it against Bin Lu by 12th-round stoppage and Sho Kimura by unanimous decision before losing the belt to Esteban Bermudez when he was stopped in the sixth round in May, 2021. before losing to Bermudez the only blemish on his record was a 12-round split decision draw with Ryoichi Taguchi on New Year’s Eve, 2016 in an attempt to win Taguchi’s WBA Light Flyweight Crown.
Canizales turned pro in 2014 and 145 rounds of experience under his belt since. He possesses very good power as 73.1 per cent of his victories have come by way of stoppage and but has halted just three of his past eight opponents. The former champion measures 5-feet-3-inches tall with a reach of 64.5 inches so gives up two inches in height to Teraji but owns a minimal half-inch edge in reach. Canizales also won the WBA Fedelatin Light Flyweight Title in October, 2015 with an 11-round split decision over Robert Barrera.
Prediction…
Teraji is a solid world champion while Canizales has fine boxing skills to go with his power so this isn’t going to be an easy night for the champion. Both are fan-friendly action fighters who are at their best when they throw punches in volume. This is an interesting fight and an upset is possible, but as as long as Teraji lets his hands go rather than trying to do too much thinking in the ring tactically he should retain his belts in a close fight. The hometown edge might not be that great for Teraji either as Canizales won his title in in Japan in 2016 and is unbeaten there with a win and draw.
Teraji has to throw punches in bunches to keep his titles.
Play: Teraji -700 @ BetOnline.ag
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Carlos Canizales betting • Ken Shiro betting • Kenshiro Teraji betting