Top-ranked World Boxing Association light flyweight Carlos Canizales of Venezuela said during his public workout in Tokyo on Jan. 16 that he is determined to win the fight with World Boxing Council and WBA light flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji of B.M.B. Boxing Gym for the latter’s titles on Jan. 23 in Osaka.

  The scheduled 12-rounder at EDION Arena Osaka is part of the event called ‘’Prime Video Presents Live Boxing 6,’’ in which ’Yuri’’ Akui of Kurashiki Moriyasu Boxing Gym will also take a crack at the WBA flyweight title held by Artem Dalakian of Ukraine.

  In the day’s workout at Teiken Boxing Gym, the 30-year-old Canizales, who was a former WBA light flyweight champion, practiced only for about five minutes, including shadowboxing and speed-bag hitting, for the sake of mass media.

  Canizales told reporters, ‘’I am really happy that I can have a fight in Japan, which I regard as my second home. I am determined to bring back the title with all my might’’ It will be his first bout in Japan in six years as he won the then vacant WBA title by decisioning Reiya Konishi of Shinsei Boxing Gym in March 2018.

  Canizales, who captured the right to challenge Teraji by beating Daniel Matellon of Cuba in the title eliminator last June, has a record of 26 wins, including 19 knockouts, against a loss and a draw. His lone loss came in May 2021 when he lost the title to Esteban Bermudez of Mexico in Mexico City.

  Ever since his loss in Mexico City, which is in high altitude, Canizales has included high-altitude training and spent a month at a training camp at the altitude of 2,500 meters (8, 202 feet) in his country for the upcoming fight with Teraji.

  Besides Konishi, Canizales has also fought with two Japanese, Ryoichi Taguchi of Watanabe Boxing Gym in 2016 and Sho Kimura of Aoki Boxing Gym in 2019. He drew with Taguchi on New Year’s Eve and failed to capture the WBA light flyweight title. But he successfully defended the WBA title by decisioning Kimura in China’s Fuzhou.

  Hisashi Teraji, head of the gym and the father of Teraji, said after watching Canizales’ training, ‘’Though his skeletal frame appeared smaller than that of Kenshiro, I think he is more dangerous than (Hekkie) Budler (of South Africa) in his previous title defense (last September) because he has stamina and punching power.’’

  Teraji has a record of 22 wins, including 14 KOs, against a loss.