Kenshiro Teraji vs Anthony Olascuaga Preview April 8th, 2023
The Ring, WBA ‘Super’ and WBC Jr. Flyweight Champion Kenshiro Teraji of Japan will be defending his belts against unbeaten Anthony Olascuaga of Los Angeles, California in Tokyo this Saturday, April 8th. The 12-rounder can be seen live in America on ESPN+ , on Amazon Prime in Japan and on the TSN+ app in Canada starting at approximately 3am ET. Teraji added the WBA belt to his WBC version the last time out when he stopped fellow countryman Hiroto Kyoguchi in the seventh round in an upset in November. Teraji stopped Masamichi Yabuki in the third round in a rematch eight months earlier to regain his title 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. Olascuaga last saw action in October when he stopped Marco Sustaita in the first round to retain his WBA Fedelatin Flyweight Title.
Teraji vs Olascuaga Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Anthony Olascuaga +300
- Kenshiro Teraji -400
My Pick
The 31-year-old Teraji of Kyoto was supposed to meet WBO Champion Jonathan Gonzalez in a unification bout this weekend but Gonzalez had to pull out due to a bout of pneumonia. Olascuaga stepped in and will be trying to land a world title in just his sixth pro fight. Teraji originally won his WBC title from Ganigan Lopez via majority decision in May, 2017 in 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 roiunds. He then downed Tetsuya Hisada via a unanimous decision before losing to Yabuki in their first fight. He rebounded well from his lone pro loss with his stoppage wins over Yabuki in the rematch and Kyoguchi in his last outing. The baby-faced Teraji is nicknamed ‘Amazing Boy’ and has boxed 144 rounds since turning pro back in 2014.
He’s compiled an impressive record so far at 20-1 with 12 Ko’s. He’s not really known as a big puncher with a current knockout ratio of 57.1 per cent but his power definitely can’t be underestimated especially when combined with his speed and four of his last five wins have come by stoppage. Teraji stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 64-inch reach. He’s been involved in a few close decisions in his career and has displayed a solid chin so far as he was stopped on his feet by Yabuki. He possesses good boxing skills and 20 of his 21 opponents have had winning records so 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 24-year-old Olascuaga is trained by veteran cornerman Rudy Hernandez and steps in as a replacement for Jonathan Gonzalez on just two weeks notice. He was already in Japan in training for a fight in South Korea on April 15th and sparred against Teraji several years ago as a teenager and again last December. He climbs into the ring with a perfect record of 5-0 with 3 Ko’s and has boxed just 23 rounds since making his pro debut in 2021.
Olascuaga measures 5-feet-4-inches tall with an unlisted reach, so gives up an inch in height to Teraji. He kicked off his pro career with a second-round stoppage of Edwin Reyes and followed it up with a six-round unanimous decision over Saul Juarez. He then beat Gilberto Pedroza by eight-round unanimous decision to win the vacant WBA Fedelatin Featherweight Crown and defended it against Gustavo Alvarez by stopping him after the eighth round and halted Sustaita in the first stanza in his last contest.
As far as power goes, Olascuaga carries around a current knockout ratio of 60 per cent but isn’t really known as a knockout artist. He’s already ranked number two in the world by the WBA and is a fine prospect who enjoyed a successful amateur career. He should enter the fight with some confidence after sparring with Teraji and his style should make for an intriguing bout.
Prediction…
Teraji is a solid world champion while Olascuaga appears to be a future world champion. That future title could come as soon as Saturday in just his sixth pro outing as anything can happen with a late replacement fighter. The two boxers are familiar with each other and this won’t be a walk in the park for Teraji despite Olascauaga’s limited pro experience. Teraji an action fighter who is at his best when he throws punches in volume. This has the potential to be a very interesting fight and an upset is possible but as as long as Teraji throws punches rather than trying to do too much thinking in the ring tactically he should retain his belts.
Teraji possesses a bit more power and has greater experience.
Play: Teraji -400 @ BetOnline.ag
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