The show goes on. WBC/WBA light flyweight world champion Kenshiro “The Amazing Boy” Teraji was supposed to face WBO champ Jonathan Gonzalez in a three-belt unification tilt Saturday, April 8, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Gonzalez withdrew with an illness, and Teraji will now defend his titles against undefeated American challenger Anthony Olascuaga
The five-fight card will also feature Tenshin Nasukawa’s debut as a professional boxer. The former multi-division kickboxing world champion will face Yuki Yonaha in a six-round junior featherweight attraction.
Teraji-Olascuaga, Nasukawa-Yonaha and additional bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT.
Teraji (20-1, 12 KOs) captured his first world title by defeating Ganigan Lopez for the WBC 108-pound strap. Teraji made eight defenses before losing the belt via 10th-round TKO to Masamichi Yabuki. The 31-year-old avenged the loss by stopping Yabuki in the third round of their rematch to regain the title. Teraji then notched his most impressive victory last November by stopping Hiroto Kyoguchi in the seventh round to unify the WBC and WBA championships.
Olascuaga (5-0, 3 KOs), a 24-year-old upstart from Los Angeles, turned pro in 2020 and won a regional flyweight belt in his third pro bout. He went 3-0 in 2022, toppling Gilberto Pedroza by unanimous decision in March, stopping the previously unbeaten Gustavo Perez Alvarez in six in May, and icing Marco Sustaita in one round last October. He will make his 108-pound debut against Teraji.
In other scheduled action on the ESPN+ stream:
Takuma Inoue (17-1, 4 KOs) vs. Liborio Solis (35-6-1, 16 KOs), 12 rounds, vacant WBA Bantamweight World Title—The younger brother of pound-for-pound phenom Naoya Inoue has won four straight fights since challenging Nordine Oubaali for the WBC crown. Solis, a former junior bantamweight world champion, will be making his fifth attempt at a bantamweight world title.
Kiko Martinez (44-11-2, 31 KOs) vs. Reiya Abe (24-3-1, 10 KOs), 12 rounds, IBF Featherweight World Title Eliminator —Spanish warrior Martinez is a two-weight world champion who hopes to regain the IBF featherweight crown currently held by Top Rank’s Luis Alberto Lopez. He is coming off a stunning fourth-round stoppage over European champion Jordan Gill. Abe has won five straight fights and has never been knocked out in the paid ranks.
Jin Sasaki (14-1-1, 13 KOs) vs. Keita Obara (26-4-1, 23 KOs), 12 rounds, Sasaki’s WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight Title.