The current WBA and WBC world champion in the light-flyweight category, Kenshiro Teraji, will face Carlos Canizales in Osaka, Japan. Will the Japanese be able to defend his titles or will he suffer his second career defeat and lose everything? Here is our Teraji vs Canizales prediction.
Teraji vs Canizales Prediction: Who’s Got a Better Chance?
Kenshiro Teraji Preview
Kenshiro Teraji was destined to become a boxer as his own father was a former professional. The Smile Assassin started boxing at an early age and already entered the amateur stage at the age of 15 in 2007. In seven years of amateur fights, he amassed a record of 58-16 and even came close to winning the national championship, only losing in the final.
Ken Shiro, as he is commonly known in the boxing world, has been fighting at the professional level since 2014. It took only a year for him to win his first notable championship belt, defeating Rolly Sumalpong in October 2015 (for the WBC Youth light-flyweight title). He continued his path to glory by winning the Japanese light-flyweight title and the OPBF title in 2016.
Teraji originally won the WBC championship belt in May 2017 and held it until September 2021, when he lost to Masamichi Yabuki. Over that period, he managed to defend the belt 8 times. More importantly, he won it back six months later in the rematch.
In November 2022, he added the WBA light-flyweight title to his collection, defeating Hiroto Kyoguchi (TKO, Round 7). After this, Smile Assassin carried out two successful defenses. First, in April 2023, he defeated the little-known American Anthony Olascuaga in a clean manner (TKO, Round 9). Later, in September, he defeated the former world champion Hekkie Budler (TKO, Round 9). The 32-year-old Kenshiro has 22 wins (14 by knockout) and one defeat.
Carlos Canizales Preview
Unlike his opponent, Canizales has no boxing background. He was born in a small town in a family of farmers. He is one of the most successful athletes to come out of Venezuela and is involved in numerous philanthropic organizations with the idea of giving back to his community.
Canizales previously held the WBA light-flyweight belt but lost it in May 2021 after a fight with Esteban Bermudez (KO, Round 6). However, then CCC won four victories in a row and even won two regional belts, defeating the Mexicans Ganigan Lopez (KO, Round 4) and Armando Torres (KO, Round 1). In his last fight in June 2023, he defeated Cuban Daniel Matellon (KO, Round 8). The 30-year-old Canizales has 26 wins (19 by knockout) and one defeat.
Teraji vs Canizales Odds Preview: Which Are The Best Betting Markets?
Teraji vs Canizales Moneyline Odds
Bookmakers give Canizales zero chance in this matchup. The odds for the champion are almost inexistent, which makes it pointless to bet on this market. Nevertheless, you can pick the champion at -700 or the contender at +450.
Teraji vs Canizales Odds – Method of Victory
This market allows you to bet on the exact way in which one of the fighters will win this bout. In cases like this one, when we have a clear favorite, this is the better option.
• Teraji to win via KO/TKO or DQ: -138
• Teraji to win via Decision/Technical Decision: +187
• Draw: +1800
• Canizales to win via KO/TKO or DQ: +750
• Canizales to win via Decision/Technical Decision: +1400
Kenshiro Teraji vs Carlos Canizales Prediction: Someone is Going to Sleep
Bookmakers consider Kenshiro the undisputed favorite in this matchup and we definitely agree for our Teraji vs Canizales prediction. Canizales is a talented boxer and still quite young. Despite his bigger number of fights, he is less experienced than his opponent, who will have his 15th title bout in a row.
Both fighters are KO artists and will not enter this match with the idea of waiting for the decision. Teraji is an active fighter who sometimes becomes too reckless in his attempts to knock out his opponent. His opponent has a similar style and will definitely test the durability of Teraji’s chin. One way or another, we should see a knockout here but we definitely think that the champion is one step ahead technically. And since the odds from the moneyline market will not bring any profit, we recommend betting on the KO/TKO option that we discussed above.
Vlad is a former amateur MMA fighter. After a series of injuries, he found a different way to connect with the sport and its fanbase - through writing. He's been covering everything-UFC for over 5 years on various platforms and has been part of the team at NYFights since early 2022.
