is a Japanese former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 2005 to 2019. He was a three-weight world champion, having held the WBA mini-flyweight title from 2011 to 2012, the WBC and '' The Ring''

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

titles from 2013 to 2014, and the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

light-flyweight Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a Weight class (boxing), weight class in boxing. Professional boxing The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York (s ...

title from 2015 to 2016. He is an alumnus of the

Takushoku University Takushoku University (拓殖大学; ''Takushoku Daigaku'', abbreviated as 拓大 ''Takudai'') is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Duke Taro Katsura (1848–1913).

Professional career

Yaegashi finished his amateur career with a record of 56–14 after winning the Inter-High School Championship and the

National Sports Festival of Japan The is the national premier sports event of Japan. It consists of three stages. The skating and ice hockey stage takes place in January, the skiing stage takes place in February, and the main Autumn tournament takes place in September and Octob ...

. His professional debut was at the

Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium is an indoor sports arena located in Naka-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 5,000 people and was opened in 1962. It is a five-minute walk from the closest subway station, Kannai Station, on the JR/Yokohama Municipal Subway. ...

in March 2005. He won the vacant

OPBF The Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) is a professional boxing organization that sanctions title fights in the Asian and Pacific region. History Oriental boxing started in the Philippines in 1946 after the Spanish-American War. While ...

mini-flyweight title there via a fifth-round technical knockout in April 2006 and defended the title once before vacating it. In his first world title shot against the WBC mini-flyweight champion

Eagle Kyowa Den Junlaphan ( th, อีเกิ้ล อากากูร่า; born December 4, 1978), better known as Eagle Kyowa, is a Thai former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2007. He held the WBC strawweight title twice between 2004 ...

at the

Pacifico Yokohama Pacifico Yokohama (パシフィコ横浜, ''Pashifiko Yokohama''), officially known as , is a convention and exhibition center in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The center located in the western tip of waterfront Minato Mirai 21 district i ...

in June 2007, Yaegashi lost for the first time by a wide points margin after suffering a broken

TMJ In anatomy, the temporomandibular joints (TMJ) are the two joints connecting the jawbone to the skull. It is a bilateral synovial articulation between the temporal bone of the skull above and the mandible below; it is from these bones that i ...

in two places due to an accidental headbutt in the second round. After a nearly eleven-month absence from the ring, Yaegashi restarted his career, but lost in the semi-final match of the annual Japanese title elimination tournament nicknamed "The Strongest in Korakuen" at the

Korakuen Hall is a famous sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted many notable boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

in July 2008. It was in June 2009 that Yaegashi won the vacant Japanese mini-flyweight title at the IMP Hall in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. He defended the title three times before returning it. Yaegashi won the WBA mini-flyweight title in his second world title shot against

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

's Pornsawan Porpramook via a tenth-round technical knockout at the Korakuen Hall on October 24, 2011. It was a very tough fight. Before the final round began, Yaegashi's manager Ohashi said to him "Come back for your son". The fight earned accolades from international media, winning Fight of the Year honors from

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

and BoxingScene.com, as well as the WBA's award for Most Dramatic Fight of 2011. On June 20, 2012, in a match that marked the first time two Japanese fighters had met to unify world titles, he lost to the WBC champion

Kazuto Ioka is a Japanese professional boxer. He is the first male Japanese boxer and fourth Asian to be a four-weight world champion, having held the unified WBA and WBC mini-flyweight titles between 2011 and 2012, the WBA (Regular) light-flyweight tit ...

via a unanimous decision at the Bodymaker Colosseum. When asked whether the result would have been different unless he got swollen eyes, Yaegashi said "We should not think about it. There is no if's in boxing". The day after the fight, Ioka decided to move up a weight division. So, Yaegashi's team hope the rematch with Ioka in a higher division as their second unification bout. First, Yaegashi aims to win a world championship again. Yaegashi returned to the ring in a light-flyweight bout at the Korakuen Hall on January 5, 2013, to knock out Saenmuangloei Kokietgym in the ninth round. Yaegashi became a two-weight class champion when he defeated defending WBC and ''The Ring'' flyweight champion,

Toshiyuki Igarashi is a Japanese boxer and a former WBC, '' The Ring'' and Lineal Flyweight World Champion. Amateur career He competed for his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where he was stopped in the first round of the men's ...

in a unanimous decision on April 8, 2013, in Tokyo, Japan. On 12 August 2013, Yaegashi successfully defended his title by defeating Mexican fighter Oscar Blanquet. Yaegashi floored Blanquet in the 8th round on his way to a points victory. Yaegashi became a three-weight world champion after defeating

light-flyweight champion Javier Mendoza via unanimous decision.

Professional boxing record

Exhibition boxing record

Recognitions

*2011

Fight of the Year *2011 BoxingScene.com Fight of the Year *2011 WBA Most Dramatic Fight

References

External links