By Ian S Palmer
The Ring, WBA ‘Super’ and WBC Jr. Flyweight Champion Kenshiro Teraji of Japan will be defending his belts against former world champion Hekkie Budler of South Africa in Tokyo this Monday, September 18th. The 12-rounder can be seen live in America on ESPN+ with the card kicking off about 5am ET. Teraji added the WBA belt to his WBC version two fights ago when he stopped fellow countryman Hiroto Kyoguchi in the seventh round in an upset in November.
Teraji stopped Masamichi Yabuki in the third round in a rematch eight months earlier to regain his WBC Belt after being stopped at the end of the 10th round when the two first met in September, 2021. Teraji had successfully defended the belt eight times times since winning it in 2017 with five of those coming by knockout. His last contest took place in April when he stopped Anthony Olascuaga in the ninth round. Budler last boxed in May when he stopped Wichet Sengprakhon in just 43 seconds.
The 31-year-old Teraji of Kyoto was supposed to meet WBO Champion Jonathan Gonzalez in a unification bout the last time out but Gonzalez had to pull out due to a bout of pneumonia and Olascuaga stepped in. Teraji originally won his WBC title from Ganigan Lopez via majority decision in May, 2017 in his 10th pro fight. He then defended it by majority decision over Pedro Guevara, a fourth-round stoppage of Gilberto Pedroza and then a first-round KO over Lopez in their rematch.
He followed that up with a seventh-round stoppage over Milan Melindo before beating Saul Juarez by unanimous decision and then stopping Jonathan Taconing and Randy Petalcorin both in four rounds. He then downed Tetsuya Hisada via a unanimous decision before losing to Yabuki in their first fight. He rebounded well from his lone pro loss with his stoppage wins over Yabuki in the rematch and the unbeaten Kyoguchi. The baby-faced Teraji is nicknamed ‘Amazing Boy’ and has boxed 154 rounds since turning pro back in 2014. He’s compiled an impressive record so far at 21-1 with 13 Ko’s despite running into a little bit of trouble outside of the ring a few years ago.
He’s not really known as a big puncher but 62 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including three in a row and five of the last six.. His power definitely can’t be underestimated especially when combined with his speed. Teraji stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 64-inch reach and has been involved in a few close decisions in his career. He’s displayed a solid chin so far as he was stopped on his feet by Yabuki. He also possesses good boxing skills and 21 of his 22 opponents have had winning records so he basically jumped in feet first as a pro. He’s is also a fine counter-puncher with a good defence and is extremely quick.
The 35-year-old Budler enters the showdown with a 35-4 mark with 11 Ko’s and has boxed 322 rounds since making his pro debut in 2007. He’s an excellent boxer who isn’t as well known as he should be. Budler has won several minor and regional titles as a pro such as the IBO Minimumweight, IBO Light Flyweight Title, WBC Silver, and IBO All Africa Light Flyweight Crowns.
He’s also won major world titles such as the IBF and WBA Light Flyweight Titles as well as the WBA Minimumweight Belt and the Ring Magazine World Light Flyweight Title. Budler has gone 6-3 with 2 KO’s in world title bouts and is 5-3 against former or current world titlists. He’s beaten Elwin Soto, Florante Condes, Nkosinathi Joyi, Chao Zhong Xiong, and Ryoichi Taguchi while losing to Byron Rojas, Milan Melindo, and Hiroto Kyoguchi.
Budler has been stopped just once as a pro as Hiroto Kyoguchi halted him in the 10th round in December, 2018 in a shot at the WBA Super World Light Flyweight Championship. Budler measures 5-feet-3-inches tall with a 65.5-inch reach which gives him a slight 1.5-inch reach advantage on Teraji. He doesn’t have much in the way of power though as just 31.4 per cent of his victories have come by way of stoppage and he’s halted just two of his last dozen opponents.
Prediction…
Teraji is a solid world champion while Budler is a very underrated former champion with slick boxing skills. This definitely won’t be a walk in the park for Teraji despite Budler’s limited power. Teraji’s an action fighter who is at his best when he throws punches in volume. This is an interesting fight and an upset is possible, but as as long as Teraji lets his hands go rather than trying to do too much thinking in the ring tactically he should retain his belts.
