(born November 23, 1980) is a Japanese

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 ...

. He is a two-time world champion, having held the WBA

super-flyweight Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . History The first title match in this division was in 1980, when the World Boxing Council responded to pressure from Asi ...

title twice between 2012 and 2016 with three successful defenses.He is

Matsuzaka Generation The is a term used to collectively describe the (usually Japanese) baseball players that belong to current Chunichi Dragons starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka's age group. As per Japanese laws on how children are to be divided into grade levels, t ...

Professional career

Kono vs. Niita

Kono made his professional debut 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 ...

in November 2000, losing on points to Toshiaki Niita. He had little amateur experience before his professional debut. However, Kono was able to win 17 of his first 20 pro bouts, steadily climbing up the rankings.

Kono vs. Kikui

Kono's first title fight would be for the Japanese super flyweight title against Teppei Kikui in February 2007. Kono won the fight and the national title by unanimous decision (98-93, 97-93, 97-94).

Kono vs. Sonsona

He then won the

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 ...

super flyweight title against

Eden Sonsona Eden Baja Sonsona (born December 27, 1988) is a Filipino professional Boxing, boxer. He previously held the World Boxing Council, WBC and World Boxing Federation, WBF International super featherweight titles, and the Games and Amusements Board, G ...

by split decision (118-110, 115-113, 113-115).

Kono vs. Nashiro

In September 2008, Kono fought

Nobuo Nashiro is a Japanese professional boxer in the super flyweight (115 lb) division as well as the WBA super flyweight champion. Early life Nashiro took an interest in boxing during elementary school, when his father took him to a boxing match for ...

for the vacant

WBA (Regular) The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

super flyweight world title. Nashiro had previously held the WBA title. In a close, contested fight, he would reclaim the belt, beating Kono by split decision (115-114, 115-114, 114-115). After the fight, Kono said ""I was able to keep my own rhythm and I thought I won. I think I hit some good punches. I did my best, but I must accept the result."

Kono vs. Rojas

Kono once again fought for a vacant world title, facing Tomás Rojas for the WBC super flyweight title. This time Kono lost a wide unanimous decision (111-116, 111-116, 109-118), despite dropping Rojas in the final round. Kono's career suffered more setbacks, dropping decisions to Yota Sato and Yohei Tobe following his loss to Rojas.

Kono vs. Kokietgym

Kono captured the WBA super flyweight title in his third world title shot against

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Tepparith Kokietgym Tepparith Singwancha or Tepparith Kokietgym ( th, เทพฤทธิ์ สิงห์วังชา, เทพฤทธิ์ ก่อเกียรติยิม, born November 22, 1988) is a Thai former professional boxer in the supe ...

via fourth round knockout. at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in

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 ...

on December 31, 2012. Kono dropped the Thai champion three times during round 4. The result was considered an upset. Yota Sato, who held the WBC title expressed interest in rematching Kono in a unification bout.

Kono vs. Solis

Kono would lose his title in his first defense, dropping a majority decision (113-113, 112-114, 111-115) to

Liborio Solís Liborio Solís (born 21 March 1982) is a Venezuelan professional boxer who held WBA super flyweight title in 2013. He also challenged once for the WBC bantamweight title in 2016 and twice for the WBA bantamweight title in 2016 and 2017. Pro ...

in a fight where both fighters traded knockdowns.

Kono vs. Kaovichit

After Solís lost his title due to being unable to make weight in his next fight, Kono faced

Denkaosan Kaovichit Denkaosan Kaovichit a.k.a. Denkaosan Redbull Gym. a.k.a. Denkaosan Singwangcha ( Thai: เด่นเก้าแสน เก้าวิชิต, เด่นเก้าแสนกระทิงยิม, เด่นเก้าแส ...

for the vacant WBA title. Denkaosan went down in round 4, but was ahead on the scorecards before Kono knocked him out in round 8 with a cross.

Kono vs. Jimenez

Kono's first defense saw him fight to a

split draw A split draw is an outcome in several full-contact combat sports, including boxing, mixed martial arts, and other sports involving striking. In a split draw, one of the three judges scores the contest in favor of one fighter, another judge scores i ...

against Norberto Jiménez.

Kono vs. Kameda

He then fought

Kōki Kameda is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2015. He is a three-weight world champion, having held the WBA light-flyweight title from 2006 to 2007, the WBC and lineal flyweight titles from 2009 to 2010, and the WBA (Reg ...

at the

UIC Pavilion Credit Union 1 Arena (previously known as UIC Pavilion) is a multi-purpose arena located at 525 S. Racine Avenue on the Near West Side in Chicago, Illinois, which opened in 1982. Description and history Credit Union 1 Arena is located on the cam ...

in Chicago. In a scrappy brawl that saw both fighters lose points on the scorecards due to fouls, Kono retained his title, dropping Kameda in round 2 en route to winning a unanimous decision (115-109, 113-111, 116-108).

Kono vs. Concepcion

Kono would lose his title in a unification bout against the WBA's

interim champion An interim championship is an alternate title that is awarded by the sanctioning bodies of professional boxing, and in other combat sports such as kickboxing, professional wrestling, and mixed martial arts. Occasionally, the champion of a particul ...

Luis Concepción Luis Miguel Concepción Montiel (born October 6, 1985) is a Panamanian professional boxer. Professional career His nickname is "El Nica", the southpaw resides in the capital of Panama. His professional record includes 24 fights: 22 wins (17 kno ...

. Concepción won the fight by unanimous decision (113-115, 112-116, 112-116).

Kono vs. Inoue

Kono challenged WBO super flyweight champion

Naoya Inoue is a Japanese professional boxer. He is a three-division world champion and currently the undisputed bantamweight world champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, ''Ring'' magazine titles since 2019, the WBC title since June 2022, and the W ...

in December 2016. Inoue stopped Kono in a commanding performance. Kono was dropped once by a left hook from Inoue before being stopped in the sixth round. This was the first time Kono lost a fight due to stoppage.

Kono vs. Tso

In October 2017, Kono faced

Rex Tso Rex Tso Sing-yu : 曹星如; born 15 July 1987) is a Hong Kong amateur boxer and former professional boxer. He has won several regional titles at super-flyweight and has been ranked in the world top 10 by the WBO. However, after Rex Tso leaving ...

. Tso had sought to fight Kono while the latter was still a world champion, but was unable to draw him into the ring. After six rounds, Tso was unable to continue due to swelling around his eye. Nevertheless, Tso remained unbeaten by winning a

technical decision A technical decision is a term used in boxing when a fight has to be stopped because of a headbutt. In boxing fights, referees have to pay deep attention to the action going on between the fighters, especially when the two combatants are fightin ...

Kono vs. Moloney

In his next bout, Kono faced

Jason Moloney Jason Moloney (born 10 January 1991) is an Australian professional boxer who challenged twice for the IBF bantamweight title. At regional level, he has held the WBA Oceania bantamweight title since 2017 and held the Commonwealth bantamweight t ...

, ranked 4# by the WBA, #5 by the WBO, #11 by 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 ...

and #13 by the WBC at bantamweight. Moloney managed to win the fight via a sixth round TKO.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

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Kohei Kono - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kono, Kohei 1980 births Living people World Boxing Association champions World boxing champions Sportspeople from Tokyo Japanese male boxers Bantamweight boxers