WBA and WBC flyweight titlist Kenshiro Teraji returns to action in what could potentially be a very dangerous unified championship defense against Ricardo Sandoval on Wednesday.

Teraji, The Ring's No. 1-rated flyweight, welcomes the opportunity to face one of the 112-pound division's top contenders.

"I watched a video and he's a really good boxer with a fairly aggressive, pushing forward style," the defending champion told The Ring. "So, I'm really looking forward to fighting him.

"I [will] try to put pressure on him to make him back down, but if that doesn't work, I sometimes I will use my footwork."

In his last fight, Teraji (25-1, 16 KOs) came on strong to score a come-from-behind knockout to defend his WBC title while securing WBA honours against Seigo Yuri Akui.

The thrill-a-minute encounter was one of the best fights so far this year and will live long in the memory for its dramatic conclusion.

"I was really happy when the referee stopped the fight," he said. "I wonder if I was lucky there, or maybe I was more focused at the end, but I'm not sure about that. But I definitely was happy when I won.

"I was planning to make him back down, but he didn't at all, so in that sense, I was able to learn how to fight against an opponent who wouldn't back down in the last match and think it was a good experience that will lead to the next one."

The win went some way to getting Teraji pound-for-pound recognition. The 33-year-old Japanese fighter proudly sits at No. 9 on The Ring's mythical but much acclaimed list.

"I'm happy to be among the world's best boxers, and it also motivates me to want to move up even more," he continued. "I hope to continue to move up the rankings in the future."

In order to do that, he's eyeing unified junior bantamweight world champion Jesse Rodriguez, who sits at No. 6. Bam added Phumelela Cafu's IBF title to his ever-growing collection after a tenth-round stoppage win over the unbeaten South African on July 19.

"I'm thinking about moving up a weight class now and would like to face Bam Rodriguez," he said - not for the first time either.

First things first, he'll have to take care of Sandoval - far from an easy task - though if we've learnt anything about Teraji, it's to never count him out.

Sandoval, The Ring's No. 5-rated flyweight, joined the paid ranks across the border in Mexico nine years ago.

An early four-round majority decision loss didn't deter him from staying active, scoring contrasting wins over Oscar Vasquez and Raymond Tabugon before a UK visit saw him stop former world title challenger Jay Harris with an eighth-round finish in their IBF eliminator.

Sandoval (26-2, 18 KOs) took a gamble that backfired when facing Costa Rica's unheralded but then 11-0 contender David Jimenez, suffering a 12-round majority decision loss.

However, 'El Nino' has since reeled off six consecutive victories in three years since, including stoppage wins over experienced former world title challenger Carlos Buitrago and former junior flyweight champion Angel Acosta in eight and ten rounds respectively.