Anthony Olascuaga may be in over his head when he squares off against unified world junior flyweight titleholder Kenshiro Teraji on Saturday. 

Promoter Tuto Zabala, Jr. does not believe so.

Zabala believes Olascuaga will not only have a breakthrough performance, but will be victorious at the expense of Teraji when they square off at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan (ESPN+ in the U.S. and Prime Video in Japan, 4 a.m. ET/ 1 a.m. PT).

Olascuaga (5-0, 3 knockouts), who resides in Los Angeles, took the fight on short notice when original opponent, WBO titleholder Jonathan Gonzalez, had to withdraw from the fight due to a case of pneumonia, according to Zabala, who promotes both Olascuaga and Gonzalez.

Teraji had other options, but according to Zabala, Olascuaga was ultimately selected as the opponent.

“Teiken Promotions (which promotes Teraji) had two fighters to replace Gonzalez,” Zabala told BoxingScene earlier this week. “Anthony and Gerardo Zapata. They (Teiken) decided on Anthony, who is already ranked, and was already in Japan training for a fight on April 15. 

“Anthony is a great fighter, has fought against fighters with a lot of experience than him, and, as an amateur, has trained and sparred against Junto Nakatani, Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez and Kosei Tanaka, amongst others. His trainer, Rudy Hernandez, always had a lot of faith in him and has wanted him to be moved quickly towards a world title shot, and now, the opportunity is here. I’m proud to have worked with him and Teiken on his five fights as a pro. It will be an interesting fight and I’m sure he will be a new world champion.

The 24-year-old Olascuaga has appeared on Boxeo Telemundo telecasts and ESPN Knockout streams. In August 2021, Olascuaga was 1-0, 1 KO when he soundly defeated former world title challenger Saul Juarez. In his last bout on October 14, Olascuaga stopped Marco Sustaita in the opening round.

Olascuaga became a ranked fighter by the WBA in his third fight as a pro, defeating Gilberto Pedroza by unanimous decision. With the win, Olascuaga won a regional title belt.

Teraji (20-1, 12 KOs), who resides in Kyoto, Japan, will be defending his WBC and WBA world title belts against Olascuaga. He is also the lineal world champion at 108 pounds. In his last bout on November 1, Teraji stopped Hiroto Kyoguchi in the seventh round of an action fight. 

The 31-year-old has won his last two fights since losing to Masamichi Yabuki in September 2021. Teraji would avenge the loss to Yabuki less than six months later, stopping him in the third round.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing