Kenshiro Teraji could not summon another miracle finish.
Ricardo Sandoval proved more than a worthy challenger, as he overcame a fifth round knockdown to win the WBA and WBC flyweight titles via split decision. Judge Pawel Kardyni (114-113) had Teraji edging the contest, overruled by judges Leszek Jankowiak (115-112) and Joseph Gwitt (117-110), who awarded California’s Sandoval with the upset win atop a DAZN/U-Next title fight tripleheader Wednesday from Yokohama Buntai in Yokohama, Japan.
Kyoto’s Teraji was coming off a 12th round knockout of Seigo Yuri Akui to become a two-division unified titlist. Their March 13 thriller remains the leading candidate for 2025 Fight of the Year but was also a taxing affair that required Teraji to rally from a scorecard deficit.
Sandoval did his best to ensure that history wouldn’t repeat itself.
“It feels great. All the hard work paid off,” Sandoval said after the win. “I never stopped working since I was ten years old. Now we’re here, and we’re [a two-belt] champion.”
Action was measured out the gate. Sandoval boxed at a distance in his first career title challenge. Teraji – one of the sport’s top action fighters – didn’t waste any energy or punches, as he comfortably moved forward to create openings for his potent offense.
Sandoval popped his jab to open the second, to which Teraji quickly responded in kind. Teraji connected with a right hand after two previous attempts, while Sandoval sought to sneak in a counter left hook. Sandoval landed a three-punch combination, which Teraji took well.
Teraji picked up the pace in the third, though Sandoval was consistent with his jab down the middle. Action along the ropes saw both boxers connect with right hands. Sandoval’s shot allowed the challenger to get off the ropes and bring the fight to the center of the ring. Teraji landed a one-two, to which Sandoval responded with a left hook around the champion’s guard.
Sandoval continued to beat Teraji to the punch in the fourth. Teraji reached with his jab but Sandoval remained out of his foe’s effective punching range. Sandoval jabbed an incoming Teraji but missed with a right and was open for a counter left hook to the body. A right hand by Sandoval cracked Teraji on the chin, as did a left hook later in the frame.
Teraji bounced on his toes at the start of the fifth. Sandoval landed a jab and right hand to the body, but was backed into a corner by Teraji. He attempted to resume control but was floored by a heavy right hand behind a range-finding jab midway through the round.
The sequence immediately changed the course of the bout. Sandoval beat the count but Teraji immediately went on the hunt in his best effort to not squander the moment.
Sandoval threw in combination in the sixth, though his punches momentarily lacked the same steam from earlier rounds. Teraji made every punch count and briefly cornered Sandoval, who managed a right hand to avoid pending danger. Teraji connected with a right uppercut just inside the ten-second mark.
The start of the second half saw Sandoval stand his ground in a bid to reclaim early round success. He fired off jabs and right hands with conviction, all which Teraji took well but without an immediate response. Teraji cut off the ring and landed a counter right on a cornered Sandoval. A brief clinch was met with a Teraji push, to which Sandoval responded with a left hook.
Action slowed in rounds eight and nine, which worked to Sandoval’s benefit. Teraji was measured but largely ineffective in his approach during these moments. Sandoval continued to stick his jab and right hand down the middle, to further disrupt Teraji’s rhythm.
Teraji landed a right hand in the tenth, his best moment in several rounds. Sandoval briefly switched to southpaw and scored with an overhand left. Both boxers landed with their jab but Sandoval got the better of the exchange with a follow-up right hand down the middle. Teraji and Sandoval each loaded up on right hands, neither of which hit the mark.
Sandoval dug a right hand to the body in the eleventh. Teraji responded in kind, to start off frequent two-way action throughout the frame. An uppercut by Teraji found the mark late, as Sandoval returned to his jab and fought at long range. Sandoval closed the high-volume round with a left hand out of a southpaw stance.
The final round approach by both boxers suggested each believed the fight outcome was very much in the balance.
Teraji slammed home a left hook to the body, which Sandoval took well and responded with two power shots. Sandoval landed upstairs but Teraji walked through it and charged forward to score with two right hands. Teraji slammed home another right along with an uppercut as Sandoval was forced on the defensive down the stretch. Sandoval launched a left hook, met with a right hand by Teraji just before the bell.
The post-fight body language was telling, without any knowledge of how the judges scored the contest. Sandoval was paraded around the ring by his team, while Teraji bore a sheepish grin as he stood in his corner.
It was reflected in the outcome, as Sandoval, 27-2 (18 KOs) and his corner erupted in celebration upon hearing “… and the NEW” from legendary ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jnr.
Teraji fell to 25-2 (16 KOs), as he snapped a seven-fight win streak spanning two weight divisions. He avenged his first career defeat, a September 2021 tenth-round knockout to Masamichi Yabuki with a one-sided, third round stoppage in their rematch. The feat saw Teraji reclaim his WBC 108lbs title, to which he added the WBA belt and lineal championship just one fight later in a rout of unbeaten countryman Hiroto Kyoguchi.
Teraji abandoned his junior flyweight title reign to campaign at flyweight, where he stopped Cristofer Rosales in the tenth round to win the vacant WBC title last October. His abovementioned win over Akui saw Teraji join Naoya Inoue as Japan’s only two fighters to unify titles in two or more weight divisions.
The accolades were enough to garner pound-for-pound consideration, though that came to a halt on Wednesday.
Sandoval has now won seven in a row following a July 2022 majority decision defeat to David Jimenez. An eleventh round knockdown was the difference on the cards.
It was also just enough to knock him out of title contention after he previously held the IBF mandatory position at flyweight.
There was no denying his dream in his first title bid, as Sandoval took down one of the sport’s very best to bring two titles home to the U.S.
“My team kept pushing,” said Sandoval. “We had an amazing game plan, we worked on it and worked on it and came away with the win. All the 29 pro fights I had and the amateur fights I had, I always trained like it was a world championship. All the hard work paid off.
“My family and my team, they always kept pushing me to be the best. Now that I’m the world champion, this is for them.”
