Kenshiro takes part in post fight press conference, thanks Yabuki, targets unifications
Yesterday we saw Kenshiro Teraji (19-1, 11) [寺地 拳四朗] reclaim the WBC Light Flyweight title, stopping Masamichi Yabuki (13-4, 12) [佐藤政道] in 3 rounds to take the title back. Today, following that win, Kenshiro attended a press conference to talk about the bout, his performance and what's next for the "Amazing Boy".
Regarding getting the title back, Kenshiro stated he was happy and like he was in a dream, whilst admitting he didn't sleep much last night. He stated that his social media account on LINE, a Japanese social media service, blew up, with hundreds of messages following the win.
Regarding strategy it seemed there was a deliberate change in how Kenshiro fights, and that was spoken about by the fighter and his trainer, who explained that they had more success in fighting than usual, and that that was part of the game plan to defeat Yabuki. They also stated that would be incorporated more regularly in how the champion fights, adding "the opponents will be confused", as if to note it's an extra tool in his locker that he can use as and when he needs to. It was also explained that his focus during training was on improving his defense, with Kenta Kato offering specific technical changes to how Kenshiro uses defense, and making it more focused on correct movements to allow him to get close, as he did against Yabuki.
Interestingly he Kenshiro was said to have been "awakened" by the loss, and added "Thanks to Yabuki, I became stronger. Thank you."
As for the future, it's unclear what is next for Kenshiro, and we have seen him being called out by Cuban talent Daniel Matellon on social media, though there was hints that Kenshiro would be looking at unification bouts and potentially moving weight, a huge change in focus from where he was a year ago, when he was hunting the Japanese defenses record. One name that was uttered as a possible bout for the champion was WBA Light Flyweight "super" champion Hiroto Kyoguchi (15-0, 10) [京口 紘人], though Kenshiro's team neither confirmed or denied the potential of that bout.
Regarding getting the title back, Kenshiro stated he was happy and like he was in a dream, whilst admitting he didn't sleep much last night. He stated that his social media account on LINE, a Japanese social media service, blew up, with hundreds of messages following the win.
Regarding strategy it seemed there was a deliberate change in how Kenshiro fights, and that was spoken about by the fighter and his trainer, who explained that they had more success in fighting than usual, and that that was part of the game plan to defeat Yabuki. They also stated that would be incorporated more regularly in how the champion fights, adding "the opponents will be confused", as if to note it's an extra tool in his locker that he can use as and when he needs to. It was also explained that his focus during training was on improving his defense, with Kenta Kato offering specific technical changes to how Kenshiro uses defense, and making it more focused on correct movements to allow him to get close, as he did against Yabuki.
Interestingly he Kenshiro was said to have been "awakened" by the loss, and added "Thanks to Yabuki, I became stronger. Thank you."
As for the future, it's unclear what is next for Kenshiro, and we have seen him being called out by Cuban talent Daniel Matellon on social media, though there was hints that Kenshiro would be looking at unification bouts and potentially moving weight, a huge change in focus from where he was a year ago, when he was hunting the Japanese defenses record. One name that was uttered as a possible bout for the champion was WBA Light Flyweight "super" champion Hiroto Kyoguchi (15-0, 10) [京口 紘人], though Kenshiro's team neither confirmed or denied the potential of that bout.