Japan’s best card of the year is less than two months away, and American viewers won’t have to jump through hoops to enjoy it. Top Rank announced today that ESPN+ will broadcast the November 1 light flyweight unification bout between Kenshiro Teraji and Hiroto Kyoguchi along with three other big fights.
The event airs nationally on Prime Video and begins at 4:30 am ET.
Teraji (19-1, 11 KO) vs. Kyoguchi (16-0, 11 KO) has been the fight to make in 108 since Kyoguchi stopped Hekkie Budler for the WBA “super” title in 2018. Teraji had already had the WBC belt for a year at the time, and the pair quickly established themselves as the top two in the division with successful defense after successful defense.
The fight seemed to have gone the way too marinated Lopez vs. Gamboa when Teraji lost his title to Masamichi Yabuki last year, but he looked as good as ever when he regained the belt in three-round ax work. It’s just a very good matchup, one that promises extreme fireworks.
The winner could be in line for further unification soon after, as WBO champion Jonathan “Bomba” González (26-3-1, 14 KOs) will defend his belt against undefeated #2 contender Shokichi Iwata (9-0). , 6 KOs). Iwata, 26, has won basically every regional title that means anything and Gonzalez has looked great since he dropped from 112, so whoever emerges victorious will be a worthy challenger.
Earlier that night/tomorrow, WBO flyweight champion Junto Nakatani (23-0, 18 KOs) will try his hand at 115 pounds. against Francisco Rodríguez Jr. (36-5-1, 25 KO). “Chihuas” gave Kazuto Ioka everything he could handle last year, making him a genuine test for the young gun.
Finally, at lightweight, rising Shuichiro Yoshino (15-0, 11 KOs) looks to continue his retirement from Masayuki Ito against the ever-dangerous Masayoshi Nakatani. This will be Nakatani’s second fight since he lost to Vasiliy Lomachenko.
