Watch Teraji vs. Canizales on Tuesday, Jan. 23 from EDION Arena Osaka, Japan at 5 am ET, live on ESPN+!
Gear up for a thrilling Tuesday, Jan. 23 at the EDION Arena Osaka, Japan, starting at 5 am ET. The stage is set for a live ESPN+ broadcast featuring the light flyweight world champion, Kenshiro Teraji, defending his WBC/WBA titles against Carlos Canizales of Venezuela. The day is packed with a co-feature where Artem Dalakian, the Ukrainian WBA flyweight world champion, aims to secure his seventh title defense against Japan’s own Seigo Yuri Akui, a former flyweight champ. This dynamic duo of world title fights, along with a lineup of undercard battles, will stream live, bright and early.
Teraji (22-1, 14 KOs) enters the ring for his 15th world title fight, a testament to his reign as a unified world champion. His opponent, Canizales (26-1-1, 19 KOs), arrives with a streak of four wins post his only career setback.
Dalakian (22-0, 15 KOs), who has been wearing the world champion belt since a decisive victory over Brian Viloria in 2018, is up against Akui (18-2-1, 11 KOs), a fighter who’s bounced back impressively with six consecutive wins following a couple of TKO losses.
The Jan. 23 event also spotlights Tenshin Nasukawa, the former kickboxing phenomenon now making waves in the junior featherweight division, facing Luis Robles Pacheco (15-2-1, 5 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Plus, don’t miss the junior featherweight tussle between Juiki Tatsuyoshi (14-0-1, 10 KOs) and Yuki Yonaha (13-5-1, 8 KOs), kick-starting the ESPN+ broadcast.
And there’s another treat on the horizon: the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo hosts a triple-header of world title fights on Saturday, Feb. 24. The lineup starts with Alexandro Santiago defending the WBC bantamweight title against Junto Nakatani. The co-main event features Takuma Inoue, defending his WBA bantamweight title against Jerwin Ancajas. And for the WBO junior bantamweight title, Kosei Tanaka takes on Christian Bacasegua Rangel. These title clashes, along with an 8-round bout between Jonas Sultan and Riku Masuda, start at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT.
Santiago (28-3-5, 14 KOs), the reigning WBC world champ since last July, faces a stiff challenge from Nakatani (26-0, 19 KOs), a two-division champion. Meanwhile, Inoue (18-1, 4 KOs) looks to defend his WBA title against Ancajas (34-3-2, 23 KOs), a southpaw from the Philippines aiming for a comeback. And Tanaka (19-1, 11 KOs) seeks glory in a fourth weight class against Rangel (22-4-2, 9 KOs), a formidable opponent on a nine-fight unbeaten streak.
