Kenshiro Teraji Beats Gonzalez for WBO Title

Kenshiro Teraji became a world champion in a third weight division after flooring Israel Gonzalez twice and winning a unanimous 12-round decision at the Ry?goku Kokugikan in Tokyo.

The 34-year-old Japanese boxer collected the vacant WBO super-flyweight title by scores of 117-109, 116-110 and 115-111. The margins were a fair reflection of his cleaner work, although Gonzalez made him labour through several uncomfortable rounds and was still pressing when the final bell sounded. Teraji improved his record to 26 victories, two defeats and 16 knockouts, while Gonzalez slipped to 32-6-2.

It was Teraji’s first appearance since losing the WBC and WBA flyweight championships to Ricardo Sandoval by split decision in July 2025. That defeat ended his unified reign and left him facing the familiar question asked of every accomplished boxer in his middle thirties: whether there was another championship campaign left in him. His answer was delivered over 12 rounds rather than in one dramatic burst.

Gonzalez, taller and naturally established at super-flyweight, began cautiously and attempted to make use of his longer reach. Teraji edged forward behind the jab, watching for the Mexican’s lead and refusing to waste punches. The first round was largely exploratory, but the pattern altered sharply in the second when Teraji timed Gonzalez with a right-hand counter and put him down. The challenger rose without appearing badly shaken, although the knockdown gave Teraji an early advantage and obliged Gonzalez to become more ambitious.

Teraji followed with heavier work in the third, driving a right into the body and briefly disturbing Gonzalez’s balance. He continued to find the target in the fourth, mixing straight rights with shorter punches when Gonzalez came inside. At that stage the Japanese boxer appeared capable of pulling away, but Gonzalez is an experienced and durable challenger who has previously gone the distance with leading men including Roman Gonzalez, Khalid Yafai and Jesse Rodriguez. He did not retreat into survival.

From the fifth round, Gonzalez began stepping forward more consistently, increasing the pace and making Teraji fight at closer quarters. The Mexican landed often enough to interrupt the favourite’s rhythm, and Teraji’s defence was not always as tidy as it had been during the opening rounds. There were moments when Gonzalez’s persistence narrowed the contest, particularly as he forced exchanges rather than waiting at the end of Teraji’s punches. Yet his pressure was not accompanied by sufficient clean scoring to overturn the damage caused by the early knockdown.

Teraji remained the sharper puncher. His right hand continued to be the principal difference, whether delivered straight to the head or directed beneath Gonzalez’s elbows. In the ninth he caught the advancing challenger with a left uppercut, a well-chosen punch against a man increasingly inclined to lean forward as he attacked. Another straight right landed prominently in the tenth. Gonzalez accepted both and continued coming, but his willingness could not disguise the champion’s greater accuracy.

The closing rounds were fought with Gonzalez still attempting to reduce the deficit and Teraji trying to retain control without becoming careless. Gonzalez had success when he maintained his forward movement, but he could not produce the sustained attack needed to force a crisis. Teraji’s experience in championship contests was evident in the way he varied the tempo, boxing economically when necessary and responding whenever the challenger threatened to establish momentum.

The second knockdown arrived in the final round. Gonzalez came forward once more and was met by a hard right counter which sent him to the canvas. Like the first fall, it was created by timing rather than a prolonged assault. Gonzalez regained his feet and reached the final bell, but the knockdown removed any remaining doubt about the verdict. Teraji had not overwhelmed him, but he had punctuated a disciplined performance with the two most decisive punches of the contest.

The victory made Teraji a three-division world champion after his previous successes at light-flyweight and flyweight. It also represented his 18th consecutive appearance in a world-title contest, a sequence beginning with his victory over Ganigan Lopez for the WBC light-flyweight championship in 2017. Few modern fighters operate almost exclusively at championship level for so long, particularly in the lighter divisions where careers are often busy and unforgiving.

Teraji said beforehand that this stage of his career represented its final chapter. He has opened it with another belt and an expressed ambition to become the first Japanese boxer to unify titles in three separate divisions. There will be sterner assignments than Gonzalez if he pursues that objective, but this was a sound beginning. He returned from defeat, moved into a heavier category and defeated a seasoned contender without allowing the evening to become needlessly complicated. At 34, complications are best left to the sanctioning bodies.

I thought Kenshiro Teraji did a professional job on Israel Gonzalez, but it was not the sort of performance that makes me think he rules the super-flyweight division. He won clearly, scored two knockdowns and collected the vacant WBO title, becoming a three-weight world champion. That deserves respect, especially after returning from the defeat by Ricardo Sandoval and the longest lay-off of his recent career.

Gonzalez is no mug. He had already gone the distance in four previous world-title challenges and had shared a ring with Jerwin Ancajas, Khalid Yafai, Roman Gonzalez and Jesse Rodriguez. He knows how to survive at that level, but survival and winning are different trades. Teraji was sharper, particularly with the straight right, and his timing exposed Gonzalez whenever the Mexican pressed forward without moving his head.

The two knockdowns told the story. Teraji did not overpower Gonzalez through sheer size; he caught him coming in because his feet were set and his punches travelled directly. That is proper boxing. Gonzalez kept working and made him earn the rounds, but too much of his pressure was predictable. He followed rather than cut off the ring and often arrived within range after Teraji had already completed his work.

Teraji is 34 and has now contested 18 successive world-title bouts, which shows the level he has operated at since winning his first championship in 2017. But there are harder nights waiting at 115lb. He beat a durable, experienced challenger convincingly; he did not beat the division’s best man. Against Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the defensive openings and slower spells would be punished far more severely. This was a sound win, not proof of supremacy.