is a Japanese

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

in the flyweight (112 lb/50 kg) division and a former WBA

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 ...

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

. Sakata was the premier boxer in the Kyoei boxing gym before the arrival of Kōki Kameda in 2005. He stayed out of the limelight for most of his career, even being used as Kameda's sparring partner, but finally won a world title in 2007, defeating

Lorenzo Parra Lorenzo Justiniano Parra Garcia (born August 19, 1978) is a Venezuelan professional boxer who held the WBA flyweight title from 2003 to 2007. He has also challenged for the WBA Super bantamweight title in 2008 and the WBA bantamweight title in 2 ...

for the vacant WBA Flyweight title.

Biography

Early career

Sakata began boxing when he joined his school's amateur boxing team in his first year in high school. He quit after only a couple months, but returned to boxing in his senior year, when he entered a local boxing gym, run by the father of former WBA Middlweight champion

Shinji Takehara is a Japanese former professional boxer who has competed from 1989 to 1996. He was the first Japanese boxer to capture a middleweight title having held the WBA title from 1995 to 1996. Takehara turned pro in 1989 and had a relatively short pr ...

. He moved to Tokyo during summer vacation, and entered the Kyoei boxing gym to begin serious training.

Professional career

Sakata won his debut fight by 3rd-round TKO in 1998. He won the Japanese Flyweight title in 2001, and defended the title three times before losing by 10-round decision to Trash Nakanuma in 2002. He fought Nakanuma again in April, 2003, and won by decision, regaining his title. He defended the title two more times before returning it. On June 4, 2004, Sakata fought

for the WBA Flyweight title at the

Ariake Coliseum is an indoor sporting arena in located in Ariake, Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan. It has a capacity of 10,000 and is one of the few professional tennis venues which has a retractable roof. Events The arena is used as the center court for the Japan O ...

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 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, but lost by 12-round decision. He fought Parra again in September of the same year, but lost by decision again. He marked five straight wins after his losses against Parra, and fought Roberto Vasquez in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, for the WBA Flyweight interim title on December 2, 2006. He suffered a knockdown in the 5th round, but fought back hard in the second half, and Vasquez barely managed to keep his title with a 2-1 split decision.

World champion

On March 9, 2007, Sakata fought WBA Flyweight champion

for the third time, and became the champion by TKO in the 3rd round. This was Sakata's first win out of four world title matches. The day before the fight, Parra could not make the 112 lb weight limit. He tried again two hours later, but was still 4 pounds overweight. As a consequence, Parra was stripped of the title and fined 35% of his fight money. The WBA decided to hold the title match with a

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 mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...

limit (118 lb/53 kg), and Parra was introduced as the former champion for the fight. Sakata has since then defended his title four times. Most recently, he retained it with a unanimous decision win over

Hiroyuki Hisataka is a Japanese professional boxer. Professional career Hisataka has challenged for a world title four times; twice at Flyweight and twice at Super Flyweight, but he was unsuccessful in all four attempts. At Flyweight, he lost to Takefumi Sakata ...

on July 30, 2008. On his fifth defense however, he was dismantled in two rounds by

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

of Thailand on December 31, 2008.

Attempt to regain crown

Sakata received an opportunity to take back the WBA 112-lb title on September 25, 2010. There, he faced

Daiki Kameda (born January 6, 1989) is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 2006 to 2015. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBA flyweight title from 2010 to 2011, and the IBF super-flyweight title from 2013 to 2014. His br ...

who won the title from Kaovichit in two attempts. Unfortunately for Sakata, Kameda won the bout on all score cards.

Retirement

On January 13, 2011, he announced his retirement from the ring.

References

External links

*
Takefumi Sakata official blog (Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakata, Takefumi 1980 births Flyweight boxers Living people People from Aki Province World Boxing Association champions Japanese male boxers Sportspeople from Hiroshima Prefecture