(Dec. 21, 2023) — Five world title bouts spread across two loaded cards from Japan will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. early next year on ESPN+.

The action kicks off Tuesday, Jan. 23, as WBC/WBA light flyweight world champion Kenshiro “The Amazing Boy” Teraji defends his titles against Venezuela’s Carlos Canizales at EDION Arena Osaka. In the co-feature, Ukraine’s WBA flyweight world champion, Artem Dalakian, makes his seventh title defense against former Japanese flyweight champion Seigo Yuri Akui. The world title twofer and additional undercard bouts will stream starting at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT.

Teraji (22-1, 14 KOs) is making his third defense as a unified world champion and 15th world title appearance spread across two reigns. Canizales (26-1-1, 19 KOs) has won four fights since the lone defeat on his ledger.

Dalakian (22-0, 15 KOs) has been a world champion since winning the vacant title via unanimous decision over Brian Viloria in February 2018. Akui (18-2-1, 11 KOs) resurrected his career following a pair of TKO losses, having won six consecutive contests since 2019.

The Jan. 23 bill also sees former kickboxing superstar and rising junior featherweight Tenshin Nasukawa (2-0) continue his professional boxing journey in an eight-rounder against Luis Robles Pacheco (15-2-1, 5 KOs). The ESPN+ stream commences with an eight-rounder at junior featherweight between Juiki Tatsuyoshi (14-0-1, 10 KOs) and Yuki Yonaha (13-5-1, 8 KOs).

Ry?goku Kokugikan in Tokyo will play host to a trio of world title showdowns on Saturday, Feb. 24, as Alexandro Santiago defends his WBC bantamweight world title against Japan’s pound-for-pound star Junto Nakatani. The co-feature sees WBA bantamweight ruler Takuma Inoue attempt to retain his strap versus Filipino former world champion Jerwin Ancajas. Title fight number three will be for the vacant WBO junior bantamweight world title, as three-weight world champion Kosei Tanaka attempts to conquer a fourth weight class when he fights Mexico’s Christian Bacasegua Rangel. The world title tripleheader and an 8-round bantamweight tilt between Jonas Sultan (19-6, 11 KOs) and Riku Masuda (3-1, 3 KOs) begins at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT.

Santiago (28-3-5, 14 KOs) won the vacant WBC world title in July with a unanimous decision over future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire. Nakatani (26-0, 19 KOs) is a two-weight world champion who vacated his WBO junior bantamweight world title following September’s decision win over Argi Cortes.

Inoue (18-1, 4 KOs), the younger brother of Naoya Inoue, outlasted Liborio Solis in April to win the WBA world title. An Inoue training injury delayed the fight from its original November date. Ancajas (34-3-2, 23 KOs), a Filipino southpaw, is a former long-reigning IBF junior bantamweight world champion. Following back-to-back championship defeats to Fernando Martinez in 2022, he returned with a fifth-round stoppage over Wilner Soto in June.

Tanaka (19-1, 11 KOs) won world titles at 105, 108 and 112 pounds, and he’s now making his second attempt to win a belt at 115. He has won four straight since a 2020 knockout defeat to Kazuto Ioka. Rangel (22-4-2, 9 KOs), from Mexicali, Mexico, is unbeaten in nine fights dating back to 2019.

Esteban Bermudez shocked previously undefeated Carlos Canizales to win the WBA Light Flyweight title in Mexico City.

In round six, Bermudez landed a hard left that put Canizales on his back. Canizales got to his feet only to eat another hard hook to the head that sent him sprawling on his back, and the fight was stopped.

Bermudez is now 14-3-2 with 10 knockouts. Canizales is now 22-1-1.

David Carmona won a 10-round unanimous decision over Belmar Preciado in a super bantamweight contest.

Carmona is now 22-6-5. Preciado is 21-4-1.

Elvis Garcia stopped Luis Montiel in the first round.

Greg Cohen Promotions proudly announces the signing of current WBA World Light Flyweight Champion Carlos “CCC” Canizales to a promotional contract.

The Caracas, Venezuela-born Canizales (22-0-1, 17 KOs) is a rare gem in the sport, a two-handed one-shot puncher with excellent boxing skills. A three-time national champion in Venezuela as an amateur, Canizales turned professional in 2014 and won 16 consecutive fights before fighting to a draw with then WBA World Champion Ryoichi Taguchi of Japan in 2016. Given another title chance in 2018, Canizales made good on his tremendous potential by taking a 12-round unanimous decision over another Japanese fighter, Reiya Konishi, for the regular version of the WBA title.

He would successfully defend the strap later that year by dropping and stopping China’s Lu Bin in 12 rounds on the Pacquiao-Matthysse undercard and again in 2019 via unanimous decision over former champion Sho Kimura before his career stalled due to a shortage of willing opponents and the worldwide pandemic.

By signing with the US-based promotional company GCP, Canizales says he’s hoping to get a lot busier in the future.

“I am very happy to sign with GCP and I appreciate the opportunity,” said Canizales. “I trust that GCP will help take my career to another level with more opportunities on a much larger stage.”

28-year-old Canizales says he’s not fussy when it comes to who he’d like to fight, whether it be a showdown against undefeated Unified and WBA Super Champion Hiroto Kyoguchi, current Interim WBA Champion Daniel Matellon of Cuba or any other names in his division.

“I want to fight,” continued Canizales. “I am not worried about the opponent. I just want to show that I am a true champion and I want to fight the best competition at 108 lbs and beyond. Even though it’s been almost two years for me without fighting, due to lack of opponents who want to fight and then the pandemic, I feel I’m still at my best because I have stayed true to the gym while hoping to return.”

“Carlos Canizales is already a huge star in Venezuela and the next superstar in boxing waiting to happen,” said his new promoter, Greg Cohen. “He has incredible power, blinding speed, elite technical skills and a very high ring IQ. All he needed was the right promoter to help him land the fights he will need to become everything he can be. I’m very happy to be working with him and his team and I predict big things from him in the coming months and years.”

While Cohen says no fights are written in stone yet for Canizales’ future, he is working hard to secure an opponent and will be making an announcement in the near future.