Kenshiro Teraji is back at the rate of activity his career needs—and that his fans deserve.

Next up for the lineal, WBC and WBA junior flyweight champion is a dangerous defense versus former secondary titlist Carlos Canizales. Their bout takes place Tuesday at EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan, and will mark Teraji’s third fight in a little more than nine months.

“I love to fight as much as possible,” Teraji told BoxingScene.com. “It’s my job as a champion.”

Teraji (22-1, 14KOs) will attempt the fourth defense of his second title reign and enter his fifteenth overall fight with at least one major belt at stake through just 24 career fights. The pandemic was the thing to hold back his career, with a 14-month gap between his sixth and seventh title defense of his first WBC title reign. Covid played a part in his eleventh-round knockout defeat to countryman Masamichi Yabuki in their delayed September 2021 fight.

A healthier Teraji dominated Yabuki in their March 2022 rematch to regain the WBC belt. His next ring appearance came later that November in a career-best performance, a stunningly one-sided, eighth-round knockout of unbeaten countryman Hiroto Kyoguchi in their November 2022 WBC/WBA unification bout.

That night sparked a spectacular run for Teraji, who now fights for the fourth time in just under 15 months. He enters Tuesday’s bout on the heels of a ninth-round knockout of former two-division champ Hekkie Budler last September in Tokyo.

Budler entered the fight as the WBC mandatory challenger; Canizales (26-1-1, 19KOs) arrives in Japan as the WBA number-one contender.

“It is a designated fight,” Teraji said of his upcoming showdown. “But he is also one of the strongest fighters in the junior flyweight division. He is a skillful fighter who can punch and has good footwork. I enjoy these fights because my fans enjoy watching me at this high level.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox