Ring, WBA and WBC junior flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji will face WBA mandatory challenger Carlos Canizales at the Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan, on January 23. Teraji (22-1, 14 KOs) won the Japanese and OPBF 108-pound titles in his eighth pro fight. Soon afterward, “The Amazing Boy†stepped up to the world scene and claimed the WBC title in May 2017, edging Ganigan Lopez (MD 12). Teraji improved immeasurably with the world title win, making eight defenses against Lopez (KO 2), Milan Melindo (TKO 7), Jonathan Taconing (TKO 4) and Randy Petalcorin (TKO 4). However, overconfidence saw him return from a COVID-19 infection too quickly and he lost his unbeaten record and title to Masamichi Yabuki (TKO 10) in September 2021. Canizales (26-1-1, 19 KOs), The Ring’s No. 7-rated junior flyweight, first caught the eye when he left Venezuela to face WBA titleholder Ryoichi Taguchi (D 12) in December 2016. He returned home and claimed three victories before traveling overseas again and making a name for himself in Asia by defeating Reiya Konisha (UD 12), Bin Lu (TKO 12) and Sho Kimura (UD 12). The 30-year-old was surprisingly stopped by unheralded Esteban Bermudez (TKO 6) but has returned with four wins, notably stopping the now-faded Ganigan Lopez (KO 4) and, most recently, winning a WBA eliminator against Daniel Matellon (TD 8). The fight will be live on ESPN+
Natasha Jonas is set to fight Mikaela Mayer over 12 rounds in her title defence. Jonas will hope to retain her IBF welterweight strap on January 20, and the fight is currently set to be 10 rounds of two minutes each, which is standard for high-profile bouts in women’s boxing. Jonas (14-2-1, 9 KOs) will be making a first defence of the IBF crown she claimed with an emphatic stoppage win over Canadian Kandi Wyatt earlier this year, having previously unified the WBC, WBO and IBF World Super Welterweight Titles. Mayer(19-1, 5 KOs), a fellow Olympian and the former IBF and WBO World Super Featherweight Champion from Los Angeles was also one of the stars of BOXXER’s historic women’s night last year, and after capturing the WBC interim World Lightweight Title earlier this year, Mayer will be moving up in weight once again. This fight will be shown live on ESPN+
The highly-anticipated fight between Callum Smith and unified light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev is set to kick off 2024 in style. The former super middleweight champion Artur Beterbiev, 38, from Russia had a terrible bone infection in his jaw, the fight that was rescheduled. On January 13th, Artur Beterbiev and Callum Smith(29-1, 21KOs) from England will finally square off in Quebec City, Canada. Unbeaten Beterbiev(19-0, 19KOs) remains an intimidating rival and the only current world champion with a perfect knockout ratio. Smith, 33, has actually been less busy than the champion in recent years. Since his only loss of the career—a decision loss to Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in a 168-pound unification bout back in 2020—he has only made two appearances. After the defeat, he turned pro and defeated Mathieu Bauderlique and Gilbert Castillo Rivera at light heavyweight. The fight will be live on Sky Sports
Vergil Ortiz Jr. is coming back from a long layoff from some health related issues with a fight against Fredrick Lawson at 154 this Saturday, January 6th, in a twelve round fight at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Ortiz (19-0) made his pro debut in 2016. He has a 100% knockout-to-win ratio. The Texas-born fighter was supposed to fight in 2022, but he suffered from rhabdomyolysis multiple times. He's ready to dominate the competition in a new division. Lawson (30-3) turned pro in 2011 and has won 22 fights via knockout. The Ghanaian is 3-2 in his last five fights and is on a two-fight win streak. Fight will be shown live on DAZN.