The Most Famous
BOXERS from Japan
Top 7
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Japanese Boxers of all time. This list of famous Japanese Boxers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Kiyoshi Tanabe (b. 1940)
With an HPI of 51.58, Kiyoshi Tanabe is the most famous Japanese Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages on wikipedia.
Kiyoshi Tanabe (田辺 清, born October 10, 1940) is a retired Japanese boxer who won a bronze medal at the 1960 Olympics.
2. Naoya Inoue (b. 1993)
With an HPI of 50.41, Naoya Inoue is the 2nd most famous Japanese Boxer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Naoya Inoue (井上 尚弥, Inoue Naoya; born 10 April 1993) is a Japanese professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, and is one of only three male boxers in history to become the undisputed champion in two weight classes in the "four-belt era". Nicknamed "The Monster" (怪物 Kaibutsu), Inoue is known for his exceptional punching power, possessing a knockout-to-win percentage of 87%. He is the first and only boxer to win the undisputed championship at super bantamweight, having held all four major world titles since 2023, as well as the Ring magazine title. Previously he held the undisputed championship and the Ring title at bantamweight between 2022 and 2023. He became the first undisputed bantamweight champion since Enrique Pinder in 1972, and the first boxer in history to do so in the four-belt era. Earlier in his career, Inoue held the World Boxing Council (WBC) light flyweight title in 2014, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior bantamweight title from 2014 to 2018, and the World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight title (Unified version) from 2018 to 2019. He won the 2018–2019 World Boxing Super Series bantamweight tournament. In June 2022, Inoue became the first Japanese boxer to be ranked No. 1 in the world, pound for pound, by The Ring. He was named Fighter of the Year in 2023 by The Ring, the Boxer Writers Association of America, and ESPN.
3. Ryōta Murata (b. 1986)
With an HPI of 44.37, Ryōta Murata is the 3rd most famous Japanese Boxer. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.
Ryōta Murata (村田 諒太, Murata Ryōta; born 12 January 1986) is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 2013 to 2022. He held the WBA (Regular) middleweight title twice between 2017 and 2021, and the WBA (Super) middleweight title from 2021 to 2022. As an amateur, he won a silver medal at the 2011 World Championships, and gold the following year at the 2012 Olympics.
4. Satoshi Shimizu (b. 1986)
With an HPI of 36.71, Satoshi Shimizu is the 4th most famous Japanese Boxer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Satoshi Shimizu (清水 聡, Shimizu Satoshi; born March 13, 1986 in Okayama) is a Japanese professional boxer who has held the OPBF featherweight title since 2017. As an amateur, he won the bronze medal in the men's bantamweight division at the 2012 Olympics.
5. Sena Irie (b. 2000)
With an HPI of 31.24, Sena Irie is the 5th most famous Japanese Boxer. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Sena Irie (入江 聖奈, Irie Sena; born 9 October 2000) is a Japanese retired amateur boxer who won a gold medal in the inaugural women's featherweight event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She became the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing.
6. Tsukimi Namiki (b. 1998)
With an HPI of 29.81, Tsukimi Namiki is the 6th most famous Japanese Boxer. Her biography has been translated into 14 different languages.
Tsukimi Namiki (Japanese: 並木 月海. Namiki Tsukimi) is a Japanese amateur boxer. She won the bronze medal in the women's flyweight event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
7. Tomoya Tsuboi (b. 1996)
With an HPI of 29.67, Tomoya Tsuboi is the 7th most famous Japanese Boxer. His biography has been translated into 6 different languages.
Tomoya Tsuboi (坪井智也, Tomoya Tsuboi; born 25 March 1996) is a Japanese professional boxer. As an amateur, Tsuboi won a gold medal at the 2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships. Tsuboi also won bronze medals at both the 2022 Asian Games and 2022 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships.
People
Pantheon has 7 people classified as Japanese boxers born between 1940 and 2000. Of these 7, 7 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Japanese boxers include Kiyoshi Tanabe, Naoya Inoue, and Ryōta Murata. As of April 2024, 2 new Japanese boxers have been added to Pantheon including Naoya Inoue, and Tsukimi Namiki.
Living Japanese Boxers
Go to all Rankings
Kiyoshi Tanabe
1940 - Present
HPI: 51.58
Naoya Inoue
1993 - Present
HPI: 50.41
Ryōta Murata
1986 - Present
HPI: 44.37
Satoshi Shimizu
1986 - Present
HPI: 36.71
Sena Irie
2000 - Present
HPI: 31.24
Tsukimi Namiki
1998 - Present
HPI: 29.81
Tomoya Tsuboi
1996 - Present
HPI: 29.67
