- Source: Yoshiki Takei
Yoshiki Takei (武居由樹; born 12 July 1996) is a Japanese professional boxer and former kickboxer, who has held the WBO Bantamweight title since May 2024.
As a professional kickboxer, he held the K-1 Super Bantamweight Championship from 2017 until 2020, and was the 2017 and 2019 K-1 Super Bantamweight Grand Prix winner. At the time of his retirement from the sport of kickboxing, on December 9, 2020, Takei was ranked as the best fighter at 55 kg (122 lbs) and the eight best pound for pound fighter in the world.
Kickboxing career
= Early career
=Career beginnings
Takei made his professional debut against Tasuku at Krush.47 on November 9, 2014. He won the fight by a first-round knockout, stopping Tasuku with strikes to the body at the 2:33 minute mark of the opening round. Takei would then suffer two consecutive defeates, which would prove to be the only two losses of his professional kickboxing career. He first lost a majority decision to Tenma Sano at Krush.49 on January 4, 2015, which was followed by a majority decision loss to Haruma Saikyo at K-1 World GP 2015 -55kg Championship Tournament on April 19, 2015.
Despite only amassing an 1–2 record, Takei was given the chance to challenge the WINDY KICK super flyweight champion Shuto Hagiwara at WINDY Super Fight 2015 on August 16, 2015. He captured the title by a first-round technical knockout, after he had knocked Hagiwara down three times inside of a single round.
Takei faced Yusho Kamemoto at Krush.59 on October 4, 2015. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with two scorecards of 30–28 and one scorecard of 30–27. Takei next faced Katsuhiro at Krush.61 on December 4, 2015. He knocked Katsuhiro out with a left hook to the body after just 51 seconds. Takei extended his winning streak to three consecutive fights with a narrow unanimous decision victory against Taito Gunji at Krush.63 on February 5, 2016.
Krush Super Bantamweight champion
Takei took part in the 2016 Krush Super Bantamweight tournament, held to crown the inaugural Krush Bantamweight champion. Takei was booked to face Ryusei in the tournament semifinals on April 10, 2016. He won the fight by a second-round knockout, flooring his opponent with a left uppercut in the final minute of the second round, which left Ryusei unable to beat the eight count. Takei advanced to the tournament finals, held on June 12, 2016, where he faced the former WPMF and J-NETWORK super bantamweight champion Yuki Ueba. He made quick work of Ueba, stopping him with a right uppercut at the midway point of the opening round.
After capturing his second professional title, Takei was booked to face Yuichiro Ito in a non-title bout at GRACHAN 25 x BFC Vol. 2 on October 10, 2016. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 30–27, 30–26 and 30–28. Takei made his first and only Krush title defense against Ryusei, whom he head previously beaten by stoppage in the quarterfinals of the bantamweight tournament, at Krush.71 on December 18, 2016. He won the rematch by a third-round technical knockout, after knocking Ryusei down thrice in the last round of the bout.
= K-1 Super Bantamweight champion
=2017 Super bantamweight World Grand Prix
Takei participated in the 2017 K-1 World GP Super Bantamweight (-55 kg) World Grand Prix, which was held on April 22, 2017. He was scheduled to face Antonio Orden in the quarterfinals of the one-day tournament, while the other three fights pitted Keisuke Ishida against Charles Bongiovanni, Nobuchika Terado against Jamie Whelan and Kenji Kubo against Son Dachen. Takei won the fight by a third-round technical knockout. He first knocked Orden down with a strike to the body, before forcing a referee stoppage with a flurry of punches at the 2:31 minute mark of the final round. Orden was given a verbal warning in the third round, after hitting Takei with an elbow in the clinch.
Takei advanced to the tournament semifinals, where he faced Keisuke Ishida. He first knocked Ishida down with a left straight, before finishing him with repeated right hooks at the midway point of the first round. Takei faced the former RISE bantamweight champion Kenji Kubo in the finals of the Grand Prix. He won the fight by a clear unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the bout 30–27 in his favor. Aside from the tournament title, Takei also captured the vacant K-1 Super Bantamweight (55 kg) Championship. A month later, on May 22, 2017, he vacated the Krush Bantamweight Championship.
Title reign
Takei faced the "Legend of Heroes" featherweight champion Namito Izawa in a non-title bout at K-1 WORLD GP 2017 -67kg World Tournament on September 18, 2017. He knocked his opponent down with a head kick in the third round, before knocking him down twice more with flurries of punches, which resulted in an automatic technical knockout victory for him. Takei then faced Victor Saravia in another non-title bout at K-1 WORLD GP 2017 Heavyweight World Tournament on November 23, 2017, in his fifth and final fight of the year. He made quick work of Saravia, winning the fight by a 98-second spinning back kick knockout. At the annual "K-1 awards" held on January 14, 2018, Takei was named the 2017 "Fighter of the Year".
Takei made his first K-1 Super Bantamweight Championship defense against Kenji Kubo at K-1 World GP 2018: K'FESTA.1 on March 21, 2018. He previously beat Kubo in the finals of 2017 K-1 super bantamweight tournament to capture the vacant title. Takei won the rematch by a first-round knockout. He first knocked Kubo down with a right hook, before knocking him out with a second right hook soon after.
Takei faced the ISKA, WKN and WBC Muaythai champion Akram Hamidi in a non-title bout at K-1 World GP 2018: inaugural Cruiserweight Championship Tournament on September 24, 2018. He won the fight by a first-round knockout, flooring Hamidi with a left straight. Takei was then booked to face Yodbuadaeng Fairtex in another non-title bout at K-1 World GP 2018: K-1 Lightweight World's Strongest Tournament on December 8, 2018. He won the fight by decision, after an extra fourth round was contested. Takei faced Sandro Martin in yet another non-title bout at K-1 World GP 2019: K’FESTA 2 on March 10, 2019. He won the fight by a first-round technical knockout.
2019 Super bantamweight World Grand Prix
Takei participated in the 2019 K-1 Super Bantamweight World Grand Prix on June 30, 2019. He faced Alex Rivas in the tournament quarterfinals, while the other three tournament pairings saw Masashi Kumura face Phetpangan Mor.Ratanabandit, Samvel Babayan face Koki and Shuhei Kumura face Sadegh Hashemi. Takei beat Rivas by a first-round technical knockout, after knocking Rivas down twice inside of a single round, which resulted in a stoppage victory for him under the tournament rules. Advancing to the semifinals, Takei faced Shuhei Kumura. He made quick work of Kumura as well, knocking him down twice by the 1:46 minute mark of the opening round. Takei faced the reigning Krush Super Bantamweight champion Masashi Kumura in the finals of the Grand Prix. He won the fight by a second-round knockout.
Takei fought Suriyanlek Aor.Bor.Tor. Kampee during K-1's 2019 Nagoya event. He won the fight by a unanimous decision. He fought Dansiam Ayothayafightgym during K'Festa 3. Takei won the fight by a unanimous decision.
On December 9, 2020, at the K'Festa 4 press conference Takei announced his departure from kickboxing. At the time of his retirement, he was the #1 flyweight and #8 pound for pound kickboxer in the world according to Combat Press. He had been ranked in the P4P top ten since July 2019. He's was ranked as the #1 strawweight by Combat Press from May 2019 until August 2020 and as a top ten bantamweight from April 2018 until April 2019.
Boxing career
= Early career
=On December 12, 2020, at the K-1 World GP 2020 Winter's Crucial Bout event Takei relinquished his K-1 title and announced his transition to boxing. He accordingly joined the Ohashi gym where he would be trained by the recently retired Akira Yaegashi.
For his boxing debut, Takei was scheduled to fight Kazunori Takai on March 11, 2021. He won the fight by TKO in the first round, forcing Takai's corner to throw in the towel after the second knockdown. Takei was booked to face the up-and-coming prospect Azusa Takeda on September 9, 2021, in the Korakuen Hall. He won the fight by knockout in the first round.
Takei faced the undefeated Kazuhiro Imamura in his third professional bout, which took place on the undercard of the Naoya Inoue and Aran Dipaen bantamweight world title fight, on December 14, 2021. He won the fight by a first-round knockout. Takei was next booked to face Shingo Kawamura on April 22, 2022, at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. He won the fight by a second-round technical knockout. Following this fight, Takei was awarded the best newcomer award by the East Japan Boxing Association for the month of April.
= OPBF super bantamweight champion
=Takei vs. Apolinar
His four fight undefeated streak earned Takei the chance to face the reigning OPBF super bantamweight champion Pete Apolinar, in the latter's first title defense. The bout headlined an Abema and Hikari TV broadcast card, which took place at the Korakuen Hall on August 26, 2022. In front of an audience of 1,420 people, Takei won the fight by a fifth-round knockout. He had a great start to the fight, as he knocked Apolinar down twice in the second round, with a right hook and left hook respectively, and knocked him down once more with a leaping right hook in the fourth round as well. Takei was leading 40–33 on all three of the judges scorecards after the first four rounds were contested. The fight was stopped at the 2:07 minute mark of the fifth round, as the referee waved the bout off after Apolinar was once again staggered, judging the Filipino fighter to have sustained too much damage. This victory earned Takei the "Fighter of the Month" award for the month of August from the East Japan Boxing Association and eFight.
Takei vs. Tarimo
Takei made his first OPBF super bantamweight title defense against Bruno Tarimo on December 23, 2022, at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The bout took place on the undercard of the Naoya Inoue and Paul Butler undisputed bantamweight title fight, which was broadcast by PXB domestically in Japan and by ESPN in the United States. Takei beat Tarimo by doctor stoppage due to a cut in the eleventh round after scoring a knockdown in the first round. He was up 40–35 on all three of the judges' scorecards after the first four-round rounds were contested and was up 99–90, 99–90 and 100–89 at the time of the stoppage.
Takei vs. Baldonado
Takei was expected to face the Philippine national bantamweight champion Ronnie Baldonado in a non-title bout on May 7, 2023. The eight-round fight was to take place at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan, and was supposed to be broadcast by Lemino domestically and ESPN+ in the United States. The bout was rescheduled for July 25, 2023, at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. He won the fight by a third-round knockout. The contest took place at a 54 kilogram catchweight, as Ohashi gym chairman Hideyuki Ohashi recommended Takei drop down to bantamweight, considering his gym-mate Naoya Inoue moved up to super bantamweight, where Takei had previously campaigned. Takei vacated the OPBF super bantamweight title on November 29, 2023.
= WBO Bantamweight Championship
=Takei vs. Moloney
Takei challenged Jason Moloney for the WBO bantamweight title on May 6, 2024, at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. Takei upset the odds and won by unanimous decision (116–111, 116–111, 117–110), also securing a world title in only his ninth professional fight.
Takei vs. Higa
Takei made the first defense of his WBO Bantamweight title against Daigo Higa on September 3, 2024, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Takei defended his title by unanimous decision.
Titles and accomplishments
= Kickboxing
=Professional
K-1
K-1 Super Bantamweight (55 kg) Championship (One time, former)
One successful title defense
2017 K-1 World GP Super Bantamweight (-55 kg) World Grand Prix Winner
2019 K-1 World GP Super Bantamweight (-55 kg) World Grand Prix Winner
Krush
2016 Krush Bantamweight (55 kg) Championship (Inaugural; former)
One successful title defense
WINDY Super Fight
2015 WINDY KICK Super Flyweight Championship
Amateur
Martial Arts Japan Kickboxing Federation
2011 MA Jr. -45 kg Champion
WINDY Super Fight
2011 WINDY Super Fight -45 kg Champion
2010 WINDY Super Fight -40 kg Champion
= Awards
=K-1 Awards
2017 K-1 Fighter of the Year
2018 K-1 Knockout of the Year (vs Akram Hamidi)
eFight.com
Fighter of the Month (April 2017, June 2019 and August 2022)
= Boxing
=World Boxing Organization
World Boxing Organization World Bantamweight Champion (2024)
Professional boxing record
Kickboxing record
= Amateur record
=See also
List of male kickboxers
List of K-1 champions
List of southpaw stance boxers
Boxing in Japan
List of Japanese boxing world champions
List of world bantamweight boxing champions
References
External links
Boxing record for Yoshiki Takei from BoxRec (registration required)
K-1 profile
Official blog
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- The Chainsmokers
- Ketangguhan kota
- AirAsia X
- Japan Expo
- Daftar transfer J2 League musim dingin 2017–2018
- Daftar lagu yang direkam oleh Big Bang
- Daftar transfer J3 League musim dingin 2017–2018
- Daftar transfer J3 League musim dingin 2019–2020
- Jun'ichi Haruta
- Kazuchika Okada
- Yoshiki Takei
- List of current world boxing champions
- List of current boxing rankings
- Jason Moloney
- World Boxing Organization
- Bantamweight
- List of male kickboxers
- Reymart Gaballo
- Tenshin Nasukawa
- List of Japanese boxing world champions
