Teraji Falls To Sandoval; Vargas-Higa Ends In Thrilling Draw

WBC World Flyweight champion Kenshiro ‘The Amazing Boy’ Teraji (25-1, 16 KOs) lost by a 12-round split decision to WBC Silver champ Ricardo ‘El Nino’ Sandoval (26-2, 18 KOs) on Wednesday night at the Yokohama Buntai in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.

At the second round’s end, Teraji had a slight swelling under his right eye. In the fifth round, Teraji landed a right to the chin, dropping Sandoval for an 8-count from referee Steve St. Germain. He recovered and was cut under the left eye by the end of the round.

In the seventh round, Sandoval had a good round, landing several rights to the chin of Teraji. In the ninth round, Sandoval had an edge.

In the tenth and eleventh rounds, Sandoval had a slight edge as both landed well. In the twelfth and final round, Teraji had a solid round, though he might be a bit behind.

Upon hearing the scores, Sandoval Teraji applauded him.

The scores were 110-117, 112-115, and 114-113.

Antonio Vargas (19-1, 11 KOs) fought to a 12-round draw against Daigo Higa (21-3-2, 19 KOs).

In the first round, both had their moments. In the fourth round, Higa landed a left on the chin, and down went Vargas for an 8-count from referee Leszek Jankowiak. Vargas was not hurt and went right after Higa the rest of the round.

In the sixth round, Vargas continued being the aggressor, fully recovered from the earlier knockdown. In the eighth and ninth rounds, Vargas came back well. In the tenth round, it went back and forth with both having their moments.

In the eleventh round, both were exhausted and holding a lot. In the twelfth and final round, it looked like Higa went to the canvas from a Vargas left hook. Referee Jankowiak called it a knockdown for an 8-count. Vargas had a big round.

The scores were 113-113, 113-113, and 113-113

WBA World light flyweight champion southpaw Erick ‘Mini Pac Man’ Rosa (8-1, 2 KOs) was knocked out by Kyosuke Takami (10-0, 6 KOs) at 2:48 of the tenth round of a scheduled 12.

In the first six rounds, Takami won all rounds, taking it to Rosa. In the eighth round, Takami came right out, landing right uppercuts to the body of Rosa. In the ninth round, Rosa started looking a little fatigued. Takami landed a right to the side of the head of Rosa, midway, rocking him.

In the ninth round, Takami continued to outland Rosa, landing a body shot from a right, hurting Rosa. In the tenth round, Takami landed numerous rights to the chin of Rosa. In the first minute, Takami landed a right, driving Rosa to the canvas for an 8-count from referee Mark Nelson. In the final minute, Takami hurt Rosa, who tried grabbing him, when Takami tossed him to the canvas. The referee, Nelson, waved a no knockdown, but saw that Rosa was finished and stopped it.

Super bantamweight Tensho Isobe (0-1) lost a four-round split decision to Joe Umezawa (2-2).

The scores were 37-38, 38-37, and 38-37. Takeru Okaniwa was the referee.

Middleweight Yuki Taniguhi (1-0, 1 KO) stopped Yukihiro Kitamura (0-2) at 1:20 of the second round of a scheduled four rounds. Katsuhiko Nakamura was the referee.