Kenshiro Teraji vs Seigo Yuri Akui Preview March 13th, 2025
Former Ring, WBA ‘Super’ and WBC Jr. Flyweight Champion Kenshiro Teraji of Japan, who is now the WBC Flyweight Champion, will be attempting to capture the WBA version of the title when he meets fellow countryman Seigo Yuri Akui. The 12-rounder from Tokyo on Thursday, March 13th can be seen live in America on ESPN+ with the card kicking off at about 4am ET. Those in the UK and Ireland can catch it on Sky Sports at about 8am and it’s on U-Next in Japan. Teraji’s last contest took place in October when he stopped Cristofer Rosales in the 11th round to win the vacant WBC Belt. Akui won the WBA Title via a controversial unanimous decision over Artem Dalakian in January, 2024 and then beat fellow countryman Taku Kuhawara by a unanimous decision last May and Thananchai Charunphak by split decision in October.
Teraji vs Akui Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Seigo Yuri Akui +325
- Kenshiro Teraji -450
My Pick
The 32-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 185 rounds since turning pro back in 2014. After all of his recent action, he makes the ring walk with an impressive record of 24-1 with 15 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 62.5 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including five of his past six and seven of the last nine. 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 25 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 29-year-old Akui will climb through the ropes with a mark of 21-2-1 with 11 Ko’s and stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 66-inch reach, which means he is just half-an-inch shorter than Teraji with a 1.5-inch edge in reach. He made his pro debut in 2014 as a teenager and has 123 rounds of experience under his belt since. His first pro defeat came at the hands of current world champion Junto Nakatani in 2017 when he was stopped in the sixth round and was also halted in his second loss when Jaysever Abcede beat him in the eighth and final round just two fights later in October, 2018. The lone draw on Akui’s record came against Seita Ogido over four rounds in his third pro outing in 2014.
Akui captured the vacant Japanese Flyweight Title in 2019 by stopping Shun Kosaka in just 136 seconds and defended it three times including a 10th-round stoppage win over Kuwahara, who he beat by decision in his first world title defence. As far as power is concerned, Akui isn’t known as a knockout artist either as he has average power with 52.4 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. He has gone the distance in his last five fights and in six of the past seven. Other than Nakatani and Dalakian, Akui has more or less faced limited opposition as a pro.
Prediction…
Teraji is a solid world champion who has held belts in two weight divisions. He’s already fought 16 straight world title fights so has plenty of experience. Akui comes in second best here as far as boxing skills and power are concerned but both are fan-friendly action fighters who are at their best when they throw punches in volume. An upset is possible here but as as long as Teraji lets his hands go rather than trying to do too much tactical thinking he should win another belt in a relatively close fight, possibly by late stoppage.
Teraji needs to throw punches in bunches.
Play: Teraji -450 @ BetOnline.ag
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