On the 20th, in the semifinal of “U-NEXT BOXING 6” held at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo—a 12-round bout for the WBO World Super Flyweight Title—No. 3-ranked Kenshiro Teraji (BMB) defeated No. 4-ranked Israel Gonzalez (Mexico) by scores of 115–111, 116–110, 117–109, for a 3–0 unanimous decision victory, becoming a three-division champion following his titles in the light flyweight and flyweight divisions.
最終回にダウンを奪った寺地
Teraji, establishing his rhythm by bouncing on his left knee while flicking out lead left jabs, showcased a resurgence of his former style centered on distance management. Although Gonzalez’s wide, looping right cross from range posed an initial threat, the rhythmically mobile Teraji calculated the timing within the opening round.
In the second round, Teraji scored a knockdown with a sharp right counter, forcing Gonzalez to a knee. Building on this in the third, he maintained high defensive awareness while applying forward pressure, mixing powerful right hands to both the head and body.
Gonzalez shifted his tactical approach in the fifth, stepping forward to initiate high-volume combinations and landing his right hand with increased frequency. However, Teraji prevented any momentum shift by countering with solid right hooks to the body, meeting the challenger with jabs and one-two combinations, and piercing the guard with timed right hands upstairs and downstairs.
Although Gonzalez landed occasional right hands, Teraji frequently utilized movement and lateral pivots to break the distance, preventing Gonzalez from sustaining his multi-punch flurries. Driven by an intent to attack, Gonzalez continually found himself forced onto the back foot under the pressure of Teraji’s right hand and upper-tier distance manipulation.
As the fight entered the final stretch and descended into toe-to-toe exchanges, Teraji’s footwork and integrated offense-defense clearly outmatched Gonzalez, whose upper body lunged forward without his feet following. In the 12th and final round, Teraji scored a second knockdown with a straight right. Though Gonzalez rose and launched a last-ditch assault with left and right hooks, Teraji maintained complete focus through the final bell.
“The one-two following the hook that we practiced landed cleanly, which felt great. I am extremely happy to hold a belt again after a year,” Teraji stated. “I focused on returning to my former style, jab-centric with sharp in-and-out movement. No fighter in Japan has unified belts across three weight divisions, so that is the milestone I want to achieve. After losing, I truly hit rock bottom, but the view from back up here is the absolute best. So let’s all keep pushing forward together.” Setting new objectives, Teraji addressed the crowd on the value of embracing challenges, delivering a mental and physical performance that suggested his peak years remain well ahead of him.
Teraji (34) moves to 26-2 (16 KOs). Gonzalez (29), whose fifth world title bid ended in defeat, falls to 32-6-2 (12 KOs).
見逃し配信期間 7月20日 23:51〜9月7日 23:59
