Teraji vs. Olascuaga Fight Results: Kenshiro Scores Impressive 9th Rd TKO
Unified flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji defended his two titles successfully by stopping Anthony Olascuaga in the 9th round.
It was an early morning special attraction from ESPN/Top Rank streaming live from the Ariake Arena in Toyko, Japan. Unified junior flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji (21-1) stopped late replacement Anthony Olascuaga (5-1) in the ninth round of their bout.
Photo Credit: WBC
WBO champion Johnathan ‘Bomba’ Gonzalez was supposed to face Teraji today in a three-belt mega fight; however, he caught pneumonia and was forced to pull out. Instead, Olascuaga took the challenge of facing the unified champion. At the beginning of the fight, it was clear that Teraji wanted to dictate the pace with the left jab and feint consistently to see where Olascuaga’s IQ level was at. On the other hand, Olascuaga was applying pressure in spots to make Teraji fight backward, but when in the center of the ring, keep his distance just outside mid-range. This forced Teraji to sometimes overextend with his punches and make him vulnerable for the counter right hand by Olascuaga.
The fight settled nicely about the third round as Teraji was executing some beautiful combinations set up from the earlier feints. Teraji was mixing the left hook to the head and body after landing a straight right hand while moving out of harm’s way after the final punch. Olascuaga was catching Teraji coming in at times, and his counterattacks were working, but it wasn’t enough to slow down Teraji. During rounds six and seven, you could see that the body shots started to wear on Olascuaga, and in the eighth, he took a step back and a deep breath after getting hit with a hard body shot.
Photo Credit: WBC
Teraji sensed that his opponent was ready to go soon, and he increased his punch volume and started to apply the type of pressure you look for in a fighter that wants to finish the fight. In the ninth round, Teraji landed a big straight right hand, and after a few combinations to the head, Olascuaga sunk onto the middle ropes, and that’s when the referee stopped it preventing him from falling out of the ring.
THROUGH THE ROPES 🥶@KenshiroooooKen closes the show! pic.twitter.com/qqulKTdbW6
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) April 8, 2023
Teraji earned the TKO victory but, more importantly, added more excitement to the potential three-belt unification fight with Gonzalez if it can be re-booked for later this year. Teraji is an exciting fighter to watch, and if you missed it, I would recommend heading over to ESPN+ and watching a champion do his thing.
You can follow Abe on Twitter & Instagram @abeg718 and subscribe to “The Boxing Rush Hour Show” podcast on all streaming platforms.
