Sho Kimura: Inspiring Journey of a Boxing Champion
Japanese flyweight Sho Kimura won the WBO world title with an eleventh-round technical knockout of Zou Shiming in Shanghai on July 28, 2017. Kimura was an underdog against the two-time Olympic champion, but the win launched his run as WBO champion.
Two successful title defenses
Kimura defended the belt against Toshiyuki Igarashi and Froilan Saludar before meeting Kosei Tanaka in September 2018. Tanaka won a majority decision after twelve rounds, ending Kimura’s reign. The Tanaka bout was his third attempted defense, following two successful retentions. Kimura’s title win over Shiming and his later loss to Tanaka are documented by the WBO and BoxRec.
Building a reign after an early setback
Kimura’s professional journey began with a first-round knockout defeat in 2013. He rebuilt from that opening loss and later claimed the WBO Asia Pacific flyweight title against Masahiro Sakamoto in 2016. That regional step preceded the Shanghai upset, illustrating a progression from an unsuccessful debut to championship competition.
His first world-title retention came against former champion Igarashi in Tokyo in December 2017. Kimura’s pressure brought a ninth-round stoppage at 2:34, as recorded in the WBO’s contemporary fight report. The subsequent Saludar victory set up the mandatory meeting with Tanaka in Nagoya.
The Tanaka fight on September 24, 2018 lasted the full twelve rounds and ended with scores of 116–112 and 115–113 for the challenger, alongside a 114–114 draw. Those cards explain the majority-decision result: two judges selected Tanaka while one saw the contest even. Kimura’s reign therefore ended in a closely contested distance fight after his title win and two successful defenses had all come by stoppage.
Sources
Sources: WBO Sho Kimura profile; WBO official result: Zou Shiming vs. Sho Kimura; BoxRec: Kosei Tanaka vs. Sho Kimura.
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
