‘More than willing’: Yafai hopes for Teraji fight at end of year

Galal Yafai returns Saturday, but has a big fight with Kenshiro Teraji in mind for the end of 2025.

Galal Yafai has business to take care of this coming Saturday against Francisco Rodriguez Jr, but says a return to Japan — where he won an Olympic gold medal — to face Kenshiro Teraji for the WBC flyweight title is definitely on his mind.

From ESPN’s Nick Parkinson:

“If Teraji comes through and I win on Saturday then I would be more than willing to go to Japan and fight him at the end of the year. ... [I]t would be nice to go back there and win my first world title in Japan after winning the Olympics there, too. Japan is a great country for the smaller weights, it has a great tradition with some great fighters there at the moment, but I have to beat Rodriguez first before I can start thinking about it.”

Yafai (9-0, 7 KO) has been good as a pro thus far, and has the interim WBC belt. He also says he is taking the veteran Rodriguez (39-6-1, 27 KO) as seriously as he should, noting the Mexican going the distance with the likes of Kazuto Ioka and Junto Nakatani, among others over his career.

Yafai, 32, is at the age and has the amateur background to not be rushing any of these moves, including the potential showdown with flyweight top dog Teraji (25-1, 16 KO), who will face Ricardo Sandoval on July 30 in Yokohama, which is also not a gimme defense for the Japanese star.