Yabuki beat Teraji for the WBC light flyweight belt in September
One of last year’s bigger shockers will get a sequel in less than two months. Asian Boxing reports that newly crowned WBC light flyweight Masamichi Yabuki and the man he deposed, Kenshiro Teraji, will run it back on March 19th at Kyoto’s City Gym.
Last September, that same location hosted their first meeting, which saw Teraji (18-1, 10 KO) look for a ninth consecutive defense. Instead, reigning Japanese champ Yabuki (13-3, 12 KO) started strong and turned aside a late surge to put “The Amazing Boy” away in the 11th.
The WBC itself ordered a rematch, citing a clash of heads and the length of Teraji’s reign. That’s stupid and the WBC are cretins, but it was fun the first time around, so why not.
The division’s in a rather interesting place at the moment; Jonathan Gonzalez dethroned Elwin Soto but hasn’t been heard from since, Hiroto Kyoguchi’s stuck in a bizarre holding pattern over an ordered clash with Esteban Bermudez, and Felix Alvarado’s waiting on a new date for his fight with Sivenathi Nontshinga after travel restrictions scrapped a December 18th meeting. Yabuki-Teraji 2 looks like the biggest show on the horizon.
