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 held 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 ...
super-bantamweight title from 2017 to 2018 and the
interim
An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities.
Interim may also refer to:
Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept)
*Provis ...
version from 2019 to April 2021. He also challenged from the
unified WBA (Super)
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 ...
and IBF super-bantamweight titles in April 2021.
Career
Iwasa turned pro in 2008, after winning national titles as an amateur and accruing a 60–6 record. Iwasa was considered a highly touted prospect until he lost a bout for the Japanese
bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...
title against future world champion
Shinsuke Yamanaka
is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 2006 to 2018. He held the WBC bantamweight title from 2011 to 2017, a reign where he made twelve successful defences and a reign which is the fourth longest in boxing's bantamweight div ...
. Iwasa would eventually win that title, as well as 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 ...
title.
Iwasa's first world title fight would come against
Lee Haskins for the interim
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 ...
bantamweight title in June 2015. Iwasa would be stopped in round 6 after being knocked down by a left hook from Haskins.
Following that loss, Iwasa moved to the
super bantamweight division.
In his fifth fight at that weight, Iwasa defeated
Yukinori Oguni
is a Japanese professional boxer from Akō, Hyōgo. He previously held IBF super bantamweight world title.
Professional boxing career
Oguni made his pro debut on November 8, 2009, winning his first ten fights before losing to his countryman ...
for the IBF super bantamweight title. Iwasa battered the defending champion, dropping him three times before the fight was stopped in round 6.
In his first title defense, Iwasa faced Ernesto Saulong. Iwasa retained his IBF super bantamweight title for the first time, via unanimous decision.
His second title defense came against Irishman T. J. Doheny. Doheny was the busier man on the night, outjabbing Iwasa for most of the fight. However, Iwasa seemed to be more precise and causing more visible damage to Doheny. Even to Doheny's slight surprise, all three judges scored the fight in his favor, leaving Iwasa without his belt in only his second defense.
Iwasa bounced back in the next fight, called as an IBF final eliminator, by defeating Cesar Juarez via technical decision. Both fighters clashed heads in the second round that opened cuts for both, but it was Juarez who took more damage in the remainder of the fight. The fight was called off in the tenth round, and since Iwasa was up on two of the scorecards, he got awarded the victory.
In his next fight, Iwasa fought Marlon Tapales for the interim IBF super bantamweight belt. Iwasa was ranked #1 by the IBF at the time, while Tapales was #3 at super bantamweight. Iwasa outboxed Tapales for most of the fight, before rocking him with a well-placed overhand left in the eleventh round. Tapales beat the count, but was stumbling when the referee asked if he could continue, which prompted the referee to stop the fight and award Iwasa the TKO win.
Professional boxing record
See also
*
List of world super-bantamweight boxing champions
This is a list of world super-bantamweight boxing champions, as recognized by the four major sanctioning organizations in boxing:
* The World Boxing Association (WBA), established in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA). The WBA often rec ...
*
List of Japanese boxing world champions
*
Boxing in Japan
References
External links
*
Ryosuke Iwasa - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankingsa
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwasa, Ryosuke
1989 births
Living people
People from Kashiwa
Japanese male boxers
Sportspeople from Chiba Prefecture
Bantamweight boxers
Super-bantamweight boxers
World super-bantamweight boxing champions
International Boxing Federation champions