Kenshiro Teraji vs. Seigo Yuri Akui Ends in Dramatic Stoppage

Kenshiro Teraji (25-1, 16 KOs) is now a unified flyweight champion following a dramatic twelfth round technical knockout against Seigo Yuri Akui (21-3-1, 11 KOs).

The official time of stoppage was 1:31. With the victory, Teraji now holds the WBC and WBA flyweight world titles. Going into the fight, he was the reigning WBC titlist after defeating Cristofer Rosales in October last year. This was his first defence of the belt and he now adds the WBA flyweight title to his collection.

The bout headlined a Teiken Promotions card at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. Boxing fans in the country could catch the action live on U-Next. Those in the United States were able to do so with ESPN+. In Canada, it was broadcast on TSN+ and Sky Sports Action had the event for those in the United Kingdom.

Kenshiro Teraji vs. Seigo Yuri Akui Ends in Dramatic Stoppage

Kenshiro Teraji vs. Seigo Yuri Akui Fight Recap

The opening round saw the fighters standing in front of each other for the most part. While both men were mainly throwing out the jab at each other in these early rounds, Akui also consistently threw an overhand right. In the third, he was able to rock Teraji with that punch.

Akui continued to apply pressure and was able to outwork his opponent even as they both increased their punch output. Teraji was not deterred, however, and responded in turn. As the rounds went on, the fight became more and more of a slugfest. Both fighters landed hard shots to the body and head, rarely ever taking a step back.

NOT LETTING UP 😤

The pace of this battle is INSANE! pic.twitter.com/B8EfD39dRn

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) March 13, 2025

Going into the final round, Teraji was behind on two of the scorecards (something that was discovered after the fight). In dramatic fashion, he stunned Akui with plenty of time remaining in round 12. Teraji piled on the pressure by throwing a barrage of punches. Akui did what he could to avoid being knocked down, staying on the back foot and holding. However, it was all for naught as the referee eventually stepped in to put an end to proceedings, giving Teraji the technical knockout win.

TERAJI STOPPED HIM.@KenshiroooooKen finishes an absolute barnburner in the last round 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YLyJ6zgZVB

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) March 13, 2025

Kenshiro Teraji vs. Seigo Yuri Akui Undercard

Anthony Olascuaga Ultimately Prevails Over Hiroto Kyoguchi

Anthony Olascuaga (9-1, 6 KOs) had a tough outing against Hiroto Kyoguchi (19-3, 12 KOs), but ultimately prevailed via unanimous decision.

Scores for their bout were 118-110, 117-111 and 114-113. With the win, Olascuaga remains the WBO flyweight champion. He won the title in July last year with a knockout over Riku Kano. This was Olascuaga’s second successful defence of the WBO belt.

Kyoguchi gave the reigning champion some issues due to his approach to the fight. Rather than getting drawn into a slugfest at close range, the Japanese fighter maintained his distance and sought to outbox Olascuaga. This appeared to frustrate the American as he struggled to land combinations. Despite this, Olascuaga continued to press forward and throw whatever he could at Kyoguchi.

In round 11, Kyoguchi was ruled knocked down after a left hook from Olascuaga. It was not the cleanest of left hands, but Kyoguchi still went down following it (a slip would have been a more accurate call). Till the final bell, the fight continued as it had in previous rounds. In the end, the judges saw Olascuaga as the victor, although two of those scorecards do Kyoguchi a disservice.

WHO WANTS IT MORE.

🇯🇵 LIVE NOW on @ESPNPlus. pic.twitter.com/JdInBMGZyN

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) March 13, 2025

René Santiago Claims World Title From Shokichi Iwata in Shock Result

René Santiago (14-4, 9 KOs) is the newest light flyweight world champion following a unanimous decision win over Shokichi Iwata (14-2, 11 KOs).

Scores for their fight were 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112. With the victory, Santiago is now the WBO light flyweight champion. This was the Puerto Rican’s first time becoming a world champion. Santiago previously challenged for this very title in early 2024, losing to Jonathan González.

This was a competitive fight, but Santiago’s performance in the second half definitely helped him seal the win. While there were rounds where Iwata landed the harder shots, the Puerto Rican was generally the busier of the two. In the end, his overall work rate helped him get the win on the scorecards.

HUGE RIGHT HAND BY SANTIAGO 🤯 pic.twitter.com/XI0mJwAwSy

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) March 13, 2025

Iwata with the constant pressure 😤 pic.twitter.com/Pb9V7JiqoM

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) March 13, 2025