By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda
Former champ Kenshiro Teraji (19-1, 11 KOs), 107.75, impressively regained the WBC light-flyweight belt as he exploded a smashing right to defending titlist Masamichi Yabuki (13-4, 12 KOs), 107.5, and finished him for the count at 1:11 of the third round on Saturday in Kyoto, Japan. Kenshiro took the initiative from the outset and kept stalking the stiff and nervous champ all the way. A well-timed right to the face was the haymaker that made Teraji avenge his previous TKO defeat and forfeiture of the belt last September.
The official tallies after the second were as follows: Kazunobu Asao 20-18 for Teraji, Hisatoshi Miyazaki and Masahiro Noda both 19-19. The referee was Michiaki Someya. All were Japanese officials since it was still impossible to have foreign judges and referee officiate a world title bout because of the government’s coronavirus regulation.
The previously unbeaten Teraji, making his ninth defense, was dethroned by unheralded but hard-punching compatriot Yabuki via tenth-round stoppage at the same venue six months ago. In their grudge fight Kenshiro, a baby-faced ex-champ at 30, completely changed his strategy from outboxing to aggressive attacking, which had the champ bewildered, as Yabuki, 29, reviewed his defeat after the fight. “I didn’t expect Teraji to apply infighting. I expected him to be a footworker as previously, and had been training to stalk him with my aggressiveness. Today I threw no solid right shot.”
It was a little questionable that a couple of judges gave the first round to the defending champ Yabuki, although Teraji was obviously the aggressor. But it was true that the retreating Yabuki occasionally attempted to counter the willing mixer, though less accurate. This reporter saw it 10-9 for the ex-champ.
The second session saw Teraji accelerate his attack by repeatedly throwing left-right combinations to have the champ backpedaling from pillar to post. It was all Teraji.
Kenshiro, in round three, maintain his pressure and kept stalking the still nervous champ with jabs and one-two combos. A smoothly thrown right caught the target at the jaw of Yabuki. Down he went. He hit the back-head to the canvas. Yabuki barely raised himself but temporarily wobbled so that the referee Someya held him to his rescue.
The winner jubilantly said, “I’m very happy to regain my belt. I’ve completely changed my style to have my title back. We, my trainer Kato and I, intended to knock him out to win back the belt with no disputes on the scores. We don’t like to leave the result subject to the judges, but wished to recapture the belt by ourselves.”
Kenshiro’s father Hisashi Teraji (whose excellent overall mark was 20-1-3, 11 KOs including his sole defeat at the hand of future WBA middleweight champ Shinji Takehara in 1992) was formerly OPBF light-heavyweight titleholder. Hisashi was a tall man standing 6’2.5”, while Kenshiro is a small son at just 5’5”. Sometimes naughty outside of the ring, Kenshiro this time concentrated on strenuous training, prepared a new fight plan and thus regained his belt to his credit.
“I wish to fight a unification bout with another organization’s champion, and hope to move up to a higher class in the future.” The new champ demonstrated his future plan.
According to statistics, we have four world champions out of Japan who regained the belts in their rematches with the conquerors: Koichi Wajima (twice, WBA/WBC unified 154 and WBA 154, 1974 and 1975), Masamori Tokuyama (WBC 115, 2004), Ryota Murata (WBA 160, 2019) and Teraji.
The home-towner Teraji delightfully enjoyed having recaptured his belt before his adherents in Kyoto, saying in the ring, “I could see a new world by winning it back.”
Promoter: Shinsei Promotions.
Attendance: 3,800 at the Kyoto City Gymnasium.
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