January twenty-third in the wee hours of Tuesday morning for those of us in the West. WBA Super (third defense of Teraji) and WBC (fourth defense of Teraji's second reign) light flyweight championships at stake. 14 of the Japanese incumbent's 23 pro bouts have been for world titles. The challenger from Venezuela is currently ranked #2 in the world by the WBC at 108lbs, and is the WBA's number one mandatory contender after beating Daniel Matellón in a final eliminator last June. Cañizales previously held the WBA light flyweight "regular" title from 2018 until 2021. Both men have been defeated just once professionally. Both were stoppage upsets.
What do we think is more damning - losing a short brutal war while up on the scorecards against 13-3-2 Esteban Bermúdez, or overlooking & getting stopped late by 12-3 Masamichi Satô? Neither is a good look but also not a career-ender. Teraji has the added advantage of having avenged his defeat, unlike Cañizales.
This content is protected Canizales at his very best, would be a handful for anyone, including the big boss Teraji. If he can be in the same shape like he was in the Kimura fight a few years back he could very well get the upset on Tuesday. IMO Canizales is a more complete fighter than the other two champions Gonzalez and Curiel. This content is protected At the press conference Canizales looked smaller than Teraji. During the second half of the Taguchi fight, Canizales started to waver from Taguchi's physical strength and pressure. Now that can be really bad if it happens again, because Kenshiro is much more skilled and dynamic than Taguchi ever was.
