Ryoji Fukunaga

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Ryoji Fukunaga
福永亮次
Born (1986-08-30) 30 August 1986 (age 37)
Takatsuki, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Other namesLittle Pacquiao[2]
Statistics
Weight(s)Super-flyweight
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Reach66.5 in (169 cm)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record[1]
Total fights20
Wins15
Wins by KO14
Losses5

Ryoji Fukunaga (Japanese: 福永亮次, Fukunaga Ryoji, born 30 August 1986) is a retired Japanese professional boxer. He was a one-time WBO super-flyweight title challenger and the former OPBF and WBO Asia-Pacific super–flyweight champion.

Professional boxing career[edit]

Early career[edit]

2015 Rookie of the Year tournament[edit]

Fukunaga worked as a carpenter after graduating from junior high school and took up boxing at the age of 25.[3] He made his professional debut against Seita Mochizuki on 10 August 2013, at the Azalea Taisho in Osaka, Japan. Fukunaga lost the fight by majority decision, with scores of 37–39, 38-39 and 38-38.[4] Fukunaga fought twice during the next two years, against Retsu Hosokawa on 15 December 2013 and Seita Shimamiya on 28 January 2018, winning both fights by knockout. After amassing a 2–1 record, Fukunaga was booked to face Yamato Kikuchi in the opening round of the 2015 East Japan "Rookie of the Year" super-flyweight tournament. He won the fight by a first-round knockout.[5] Advancing to the quarterfinals, which were held on 15 July 2015, Fukunaga faced Daichi Yamamoto. He won the fight by a second-round knockout.[6] Fukunaga faced Ryo Matsubara in the tournament semifinals on 25 September 2015. Matsubara stopped Fukunaga's tournament run, as he won the fight by a first-round technical knockout.[7]

2016 Rookie of the Year tournament[edit]

Fukunaga returned to action seven months later, to participate in the 2016 "Rookie of the Year" super-flyweight tournament. Fukunaga was able to skip the opening round this time around and was immediately booked to face Takuya Numasawa in the tournament quarterfinals. He won the fight by a first-round technical knockout.[8] Fukunaga faced Rikiya Ono in the tournament semifinals on 4 October 2016, and won the fight by a fourth-round technical knockout. Fukunaga faced Yukito Tomori in the tournament finals, held on 13 November 2016. He was able to win the tournament this time around, as he stopped Tomori by a third-round knockout.[9] This victory earned Fukunaga the right to face Kota Fujimoto on 23 December 2016, for the All-Japan Rookie of the Year super-flyweight title. He won the fight by a fifth-round technical knockout.[10]

Fukunaga faced Yoshinobu Kakinaga on 1 April 2017, in the first eight-round bout of his career. He won the fight by a seventh-round technical knockout. Fukunaga won his next eight round bout as well, as stopped Patiphon Upanan in the second round on 13 September 2017. Fukunaga was booked to face Yuta Matsuo on 26 April 2018. Matsuo won the fight by split decision, with scores of 79–73, 77-75 and 77–76. Despite this loss, Fukunaga was scheduled to challenge Jakrawut Majungoen for the OPBF Silver super-flyweight title on 29 June 2018.[11]

Regional titlist[edit]

Fukunaga vs. Saludar[edit]

Fukunaga was scheduled to challenge the reigning WBO Asia Pacific champion Froilan Saludar on 14 February 2020, at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, in the first twelve-round bout of his career.[12] As Saludar was the more experienced fighter, who had faced a greater level of opposition in his career up to that point, Saludar came into the fight as a favorite.[13] Despite this, Fukunaga won the fight by a seventh-round technical knockout. He first knocked Saludar down with a body strike, before forcing the referee to wave the fight off with a flurry of punches.[14]

Fukunaga vs. Nakagawa[edit]

Fukunaga was booked to make his first title defense against the reigning Japanese super-flyweight champion Kenta Nakagawa on 14 December 2020, at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Both of the titles, as well as the vacant OPBF super-flyweight title were on the line. Fukunaga was seen as the slight favorite, with Fukunaga's power being seen as the great advantage.[15] Although both fighters were on equal terms during the first half of the bout, Nakagawa began to fatigue as the fight went on. Referee Yuji Fukuchi finally stopped the fight at the 2:24 minute mark of the tenth round, as the obviously gassed Nakagawa was unable to intelligently defend himself from the advancing Fukugawa.[16]

Fukunaga vs. Fujii[edit]

Fukunaga was scheduled to make the second defense of his WBO Asia Pacific title and the first defense of his newly acquired Japanese title against fellow southpaw Takahiro Fujii on 21 June 2021, at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Fujii was seen as a surprising and somewhat undeserving title challenger, and as such Fukunaga entered the fight as a favorite.[17] Fukunaga beat the #8 ranked Japanese super-flyweight by an eight-round technical knockout. He badly knocked Fujii down at the 1:19 minute mark of the eight rounds, which left him unable to raise from the canvas.[18] This victory earned him the "Fighting Spirit" award for the month of June by the East Japan Boxing Association.[19]

Fukunaga vs. Kaji[edit]

Fukunaga made the first defense of all three titles (the OPBF, Japanese and WBO Asia Pacific) against the undefeated Hayate Kaji on 2 October 2021, at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Kaji was seen as the best opponent he had faced up to that point in his career, but Fukunaga nevertheless entered the fight as the favorite.[20] Fukunaga expected to earn a title shot should he beat Kaji, stating: "If I beat Mr. Kaji, I think I can say I am qualified for taking a crack at a world title".[21] Fukunaga won the tightly contested bout by majority decision, in front of an audience of 580, with two judges awarding him a 115-113 scorecard, while the third judge scored it as an even 114–114 draw.[22] The controversial fight result would later be awarded the "Robbery of the Year" by Asian Boxing.[23]

On 17 November 2021, Fukunaga vacated the OPBF super-flyweight title.[24]

Fukunaga vs. Ioka[edit]

On 27 December 2021, it was announced that Fukunaga would challenge the reigning WBO super-flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka on 31 December 2021, at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.[25] Ioka was originally expected to make his fourth title defense in a title unification bout with the IBF champion Jerwin Ancajas, but the fight was eventually called off due to stricter COVID-19 measures imposed by the Japanese government.[26] On 28 December 2021, Fukunaga vacated the Japanese, OPBF and the WBO Asia Pacific super-flyweight titles.[27] Ioka won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 115–113, 116–112 and 118–110. Fukunaga had a strong start to the fight, but Ioka began to take over from the midpoint of the fight onward.[28]

On 10 August 2022, Fukunaga announced his retirement from the sport. The day he submitted his retirement notification to the Japan Boxing Commission was the day he made his professional debut nine years previously.[29]

Professional boxing record[edit]

20 fights 15 wins 5 losses
By knockout 14 1
By decision 1 4
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
20 Loss 15–5 Kazuto Ioka UD 12 31 Dec 2021 Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan For the WBO super-flyweight title
19 Win 15–4 Hayate Kaji MD 12 2 Oct 2021 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBO Asia Pacific, OPBF and Japanese super-flyweight titles
18 Win 14–4 Takahiro Fujii TKO 8 (12), 1:19 21 Jun 2021 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBO Asia Pacific and Japanese super-flyweight titles
17 Win 13–4 Kenta Nakagawa TKO 10 (12), 2:24 14 Dec 2020 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBO Asia Pacific super-flyweight title
Won Japanese and vacant OPBF super-flyweight titles
16 Win 12–4 Froilan Saludar TKO 7 (12), 1:40 14 Feb 2020 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Won WBO Asia Pacific super-flyweight title
15 Win 11–4 Kittipong Jareonroy TKO 1 (6), 2:13 8 May 2019 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
14 Loss 10–4 Jakrawut Majungoen UD 10 29 Jun 2018 Ayutthaya Park, Ayutthaya, Thailand For OPBF Silver super-flyweight title
13 Loss 10–3 Yuta Matsuo SD 8 26 Apr 2018 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
12 Win 10–2 Patiphon Upanan TKO 2 (8), 1:36 13 Sep 2017 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
11 Win 9–2 Yoshinobu Kakinaga TKO 7 (8), 1:10 1 Apr 2017 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
10 Win 8–2 Kota Fujimoto TKO 5 (5), 1:52 23 Dec 2016 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Won All Japan Rookie of the Year super-flyweight title
9 Win 7–2 Yukito Tomori KO 3 (5), 2:34 13 Nov 2016 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Won East Japan Rookie of the Year super-flyweight title
8 Win 6–2 Rikiya Ono TKO 4 (4), 1:03 4 Oct 2016 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
7 Win 5–2 Takuya Numasawa TKO 1 (4), 1:17 29 Jul 2016 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
6 Loss 4–2 Ryo Matsubara TKO 1 (4), 2:06 25 Sep 2015 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
5 Win 4–1 Daichi Yamamoto KO 2 (4), 1:02 15 Jul 2015 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
4 Win 3–1 Yamato Kikuchi KO 1 (4), 2:19 7 May 2015 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
3 Win 2–1 Seita Shimamiya KO 2 (4), 2:52 28 Jan 2015 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
2 Win 1–1 Retsu Hosokawa KO 1 (4), 2:46 15 Dec 2013 Incubation Center, Amagasaki, Japan
1 Loss 0–1 Seita Mochizuki MD 4 10 Aug 2013 Azalea Taisho, Osaka, Japan

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Boxing record for Ryoji Fukunaga
    福永亮次"    . BoxRec.
  2. ^ "井岡に挑むリトル・パッキャオ福永亮次「勝てばヒーロー、真っ向勝負で」". nikkansports.com. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  3. ^ "ボクシングモバイル - NO.1 ボクシング情報サイト". boxmob.jp. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  4. ^ "2013年8月試合結果". jbc.or.jp. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  5. ^ "ＫＯ負けのジョムトーン右眼窩底骨折も". daily.co.jp. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  6. ^ "東日本新人王準決勝結果、勝者は11.3決勝へ". boxingnews.jp. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  7. ^ "東日本新人王、決勝出揃う". boxmob.jp. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  8. ^ "東日本新人王予選、29日の結果". boxingnews.jp. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  9. ^ "ＭＶＰにフライ級の中谷、公務員ボクサーは敗れる　東日本新人王Ｔ". sponichi.co.jp. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  10. ^ "福永亮次４連続ＫＯで技能賞　全日本新人王決定戦". nikkansports.com. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  11. ^ "タイ遠征　福永は王座獲得ならず　栗島は地域王者に". boxingnews.jp. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Saludar defends Aspac belt in Japan". sunstar.com.ph. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Saludar returns to Japan to defend regional title against hard hitting Fukunaga!". asianboxing.info. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  14. ^ "福永亮次が新王者「人生左右する試合」で逆転ＴＫＯ". nikkansports.com. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  15. ^ Fulcrum (14 December 2020). "Ryoji Fukunaga versus Kenta Nakagawa breakdown". boxingfulcrum.com. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  16. ^ Costa, Carlos (15 December 2020). "Ryoji Fukunaga Overpowers Nakagawa in Tokyo Thriller". fightnewsasia.com. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Fukunaga defends two titles as he takes on Fujii!". asianboxing.info. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  18. ^ ""リトルパッキャオ"福永亮次が8回TKO勝ち　S･フライ級アジア2冠守る". boxingnews.jp. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Japanese award winners for June announced". asianboxing.info. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Fukunaga looks to defend triple crown against unbeaten Kaji!". asianboxing.info. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  21. ^ "Regional super flyweight triple crown champion Fukunaga to take on Kaji on Oct. 2". boxingnews.jp. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Fukunaga barely defeats Kaji, keeps three belts". fightnews.com. 3 October 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  23. ^ "Asian Boxing Awards - 2021 Robbery of the Year". asianboxing.info. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  24. ^ "３冠王者・福永亮次が東洋太平洋王座を返上". hochi.news. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  25. ^ Wainwright, Anson (27 December 2021). "Kazuto Ioka settles for a defense against Ryoji Fukunaga due to COVID restrictions". ringtv.com. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  26. ^ Stumberg, Patrick L. (3 December 2021). "Kazuto Ioka vs Jerwin Ancajas unification officially postponed". badlefthook.com. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  27. ^ "井岡一翔に挑戦する福永亮次が日本＆ＷＢＯアジアＰ王座返上". news.yahoo.co.jp. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  28. ^ Songalia, Ryan (31 December 2021). "Kazuto Ioka outpoints Ryoji Fukunaga to retain WBO junior bantamweight title". ringtv.com. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  29. ^ "元S･フライ級3冠王者の福永亮次が引退　井岡一翔への挑戦がラストファイト". boxingnews.jp. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
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