Kenshiro Teraji vs Ricardo Sandoval Preview July 30th, 2025
Former Ring, WBA ‘Super’ and WBC Jr. Flyweight Champion Kenshiro Teraji of Japan, who is now the WBC and WBA Flyweight Champion, will be defending his belts against Ricardo Sandoval of Montclair, California. The 12-rounder from Yokohama, Japan on Wednesday, July 30th can be seen live in Japan on U-Next. Teraji’s last contest took place in March when he stopped fellow countryman Seigo Yuri Akui in the 12th round to take his WBA Belt. It was a dramatic finish as Teraji entered the final round trailing on two of the scorecards, Teraju stopped Cristofer Rosales in the 11th round in his previous outing five months earlier to win the vacant WBC Belt. Sandoval last saw action in February when he beat Saleto Henderson by a 10-round unanimous decision.
Teraji vs Sandoval Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Ricardo Sandoval +300
- Kenshiro Teraji -400
My Pick
The 33-year-old ‘Amazing Boy’ Teraji of Kyoto originally won his WBC Light Flyweight Title from Ganigan Lopez via majority decision in May, 2017 in just his 10th pro fight. He 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 Masamichi Yabuki in their first fight in an upset in September, 2022 when he was stopped on his feet in the 10th round.
He rebounded well from his lone pro 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. He 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 he defended the belt once more via a majority decision over Carlos Canizales before moving up in weight to beat Rosales. The baby-faced Teraji has boxed 197 rounds since turning pro back in 2014. After all of his recent action, he makes the ring walk with an impressive record of 25-1 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 just under 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 64.5-inch reach. He’s displayed a solid chin so far and possesses fine boxing skills against quality opposition as none of his 26 opponents entered the ring with a losing record as he basically jumped in feet first as a pro. He’s also a fine counter-puncher with a good defence and is extremely quick.
The 26-year-old Sandoval enters the ring with a fine record of 26-2 with 18 Ko’s. He has 155 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in Mexico in 2016 as a teenager after a good amateur career. As an amateur he reached semifinals of the 2014 USA Junior Olympic National Championships where he was beaten by Keyshawn Davis. Sandoval stands 5-feet-6-inches tall for a 1.5-inch edge in height over the champion but unfortunately has an unlisted reach.
As far as his power is concerned, Sandoval has pretty heavy hands for a flyweight as 69.3 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but he’s gone the distance in four of his past seven fights. His first defeat came at the hands of Alonso Ceja by four-round majority decision in 2016 in his fifth pro outing. He then reeled off 16 straight wins before dropping a 12-round majority decision to David Jiminez in July, 2022. Jiminez was deducted a point in round seven for holding and Sandoval was decked in the 11th round.
Sandoval captured the vacant WBC Youth Inter-Continental Flyweight Title in 2019 when he stopped Christian Orenday in the sixth round. He also has wins over Victor Sandoval, Brent Venegas, Oscar Vasquez, Marco Sustaita, Gilbert Gonzalez, Carlos Buitrago, Raymond Tabugon, Jay Harris, Jerson Ortiz and Rocco Santomauro. Sandoval has been pretty active as he has 28 fights to his name and is just 26 years of age. His biggest win came last July when he stopped former world champion Angel Acosta in the 10th round to win the vacant WBC Silver Flyweight Title.
Prediction…
Teraji is a solid world champion who has held belts in two weight divisions. He’s already fought 17 straight world title fights so has plenty of experience. Sandoval has more power and arguably matches Teraji in boxing skills. But Teraji is a fan-friendly action boxer who is at his best when he throws punches in volume. An upset is possible here as Teraji has been through several ring wars. But if he lets his hands go rather than trying to do too much tactical thinking he should retain his belts.
Teraji needs to throw punches in bunches.
Play: Teraji -400 @ BetOnline.ag
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Kenshiro Teraji betting • Ricardo Sandoval betting