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Philippines, 21 Mar 2026 |
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Japanese Rule of the Lower Weights Under Challenge by Pinoy, Latino Boxers By Teodoro Medina Reynoso PhilBoxing.com Thu, 07 Aug 2025  Nakatani (L) and Inoue hold the fort for Japanese champions. Per latest world boxing rankings as published by BoxingScene.com, there are five Japanese world boxing champions holding nine major title belts led by undisputed super bantamweight titlist Naoya Inoue and unified WBC-IBF bantamweight titleholder Junto Nakatani. This is the lowest number of Japanese boxing champions since the Dai Nippon's blitzkrieg of the lower weights classes ushering in what Inoue described as golden age of the professional fight sport in Japan. The only other current Japanese boxing world champions now, aside from Inoue and Nakatani, are Takei Yoshiki (WBO bantamweight), Masamachi Yabuki (WBA flyweight) and Kyosuke Takami (WBA light flyweight). Losing their crowns earlier this year are Kenshiro Teraji (his unified WBC-WBA flyweight belts to Ricardo Sandoval),, Shokicki Iwata (his WBO light flyweight crown to Rene Santiago) and Kosei Tanaka (his WBO super flyweight title to Phomele Cafu). Last year, the Shigeoka brothers (Ginjiro and Yudai) ceded their respective WBC and IBF minimumweight titles to Filipinos Melvin Jerusalem and Pedro Taduran) and Kazuto Ioka surrendered his WBA super flyweight crown to Fernando Martinez. Teraji also vacated his unified WBC-WBA light flyweight titles on his move up to flyweight where he later also became unified champion. Japanese champions also engaged in unification bouts with Seigo Yuri Akui losing his WBA flyweight belt to Teraji and Ryosuke Nishida losing his IBF bantamweight title to Nakatani. Seiya Tsusumi used to hold the WBA bantamweight crown, winning it from Takuma Inoue but for some reasons, the WBA now recognises Antonio Vargas of the USA as regular champion and Filipino veteran great Nonito Donaire as Interim titlist. But in retrospect, in a space of just over a year, five Japanese fighters lost their hold of their world championships, two to Latinos, two to Filipinos and one to a South African. While Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani can be considered as virtually untouchable in their respective divisions, the same cannot be said of other Japanese world titleholders with stiffening oppositions coming from the America's and the Philippines for instance. Bam Rodriguez has taken over the flyweights prompting the likes of Juan Francisco Estrada and Chocolatito Gonzalez to move up to the bantamweights and threaten the lesser Japanese titleholders there. Rodriguez has plans to take his act to the 118lbs and beyond, presenting a real threat to Nakatani and even Inoue if they lingered much longer. And there's the looming challenge coming from established and upcoming mitts slingers from the Philippines and Latin America. Solid champion fighters as Fernando Martinez, Ricardo Sandoval, Luis Collazo, Marlon Tapales, Kenneth Llover. The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.  |
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