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          Kenshiro Teraji unifies flyweight titles with dramatic 12th-rd. TKO

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          Kenshiro Teraji secures 12th-round TKO to become unified flyweight champion (0:31)

          Kenshiro Teraji forces a referee stoppage late in the 12th round against Seigo Yuri Akui to retain the WBC flyweight title and claim the WBA flyweight title. (0:31)

          • Mike CoppingerMar 13, 2025, 10:17 AM ET
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              Mike Coppinger has covered boxing since 2010 with roles at USA Today, Ring Magazine and The Athletic before he joined ESPN in 2021. You can follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger

          In an early front-runner for fight-of-the-year honors, Kenshiro Teraji unified the WBC and WBA flyweight titles with a thrilling, come-from-behind 12th-round TKO of Seigo Yuri Akui on Thursday in Tokyo.

          Teraji was ahead on one scorecard entering the final round, 106-103, but was down 105-104 on the other two. That means Teraji needed to win Round 12 to pull out a draw and one knockdown to win the fight.

          Instead, Teraji (25-1, 16 KOs) did one better. He sensed the urgency of the moment and poured volume punches on his countryman, rocking Akui (21-3-1, 11 KOs) with a series of shots that prompted the referee to stop the fight without a knockdown. The stoppage came at the midway point of the round.

          "Yuri was a very, very tough opponent," Teraji, 33, said in translated remarks. " ... I want to fight at super flyweight next. This was a rare opportunity to unify titles, Japanese against Japanese. ... I barely got this victory. This was heart vs. heart."

          Known as "The Amazing Boy," Teraji connected with a flush right uppercut followed by a left, right and one final left hand that ended the fight. At first glance, the referee's stoppage appeared premature.

          But as Akui slumped onto a stool immediately with blood splattered on his chest, it was clear the referee wisely called it off. Akui was emotional as he pressed a towel against his face, which was covered with welts, bruises and cuts.

          And the ending was surprising given Akui's form over the second half of the bout. They fought at a torrid pace from Round 6 on, high-level boxing that featured countless give-and-take exchanges.

          Akui, 29, entered the fight rated No. 1 by ESPN at 112 pounds with Teraji one spot behind. It was Akui's third WBA title defense, a belt he won from Artem Dalakian in January 2024.

          Teraji was putting his WBC title on the line for the first time after he claimed the vacant title in October with an 11th-round TKO of Cristofer Rosales. This was just the third-ever all-Japanese title unification. Teraji's seventh-round TKO of Hiroto Kyoguchi at 108 pounds in November 2022 is another.

          And now, Teraji is poised to chase a third division title with a jump to 115 pounds.