\n<\/p>\n
Ricardo Rafael Sandoval produced an upset to dethrone Kenshiro Teraji of his WBC and WBA flyweight world titles in Yokohama, Japan.<\/b><\/p>\n
Sandoval, 26, climbed off the canvas in the fifth round to go toe-to-toe with the two-weight world champion.<\/p>\n
A brilliant, closely contested fight was not quite reflected in the scorecards, which was a split decision for California native Sandoval – 115-112, 115-112 and 113-114.<\/p>\n
“I feel amazing. I never thought since I started at 10 years old we would be on this stage,” Sandoval said.<\/p>\n
Despite the scorecards there were no complaints from 33-year-old Teraji, who suffered just his second career defeat and his first since 2021.<\/p>\n
Teraji had been unified champion in two divisions, at light-flyweight and flyweight, and may now consider his future.<\/p>\n
His defeat ended a disappointing night for the gathered Japanese fans as they also saw Daigo Higa yet again come agonisingly close to becoming bantamweight world champion.<\/p>\n
And it was another American who broke their hearts, as Texan Antonio Vargas produced a last-gasp knockdown to help retain his WBA bantamweight world title via a unanimous draw.<\/p>\n
The travelling champion was floored in the fourth round by Higa but secured his own knockdown in the final round.<\/p>\n
It was enough to bring the scorecards level, 113-113, and ensure 28-year-old Vargas kept hold of his recently acquired world title.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n