Ryo Miyazaki’s Minimumweight Crown Leads to a Higher-Weight Test
Ryo Miyazaki is a Japanese boxer who held the WBA minimumweight championship from December 2012 to December 2013. Born on August 20, 1988, he also competed at light flyweight and held Japanese and Oriental regional honors.
A vacant belt and two defenses
Miyazaki won the vacant WBA minimumweight title by split decision against Thailand’s Pornsawan Porpramook in Osaka on December 31, 2012. The championship was contested at 105 pounds.
His first defense came against Carlos Velarde in Osaka on May 8, 2013. Miyazaki stopped the Mexican challenger in the fifth round. He then retained the title against interim champion Jesús Silvestre by majority decision in September.
The move to light flyweight
Miyazaki relinquished the minimumweight title in December 2013 to move up in weight. Later that month he lost a non-title bout to Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr. He subsequently challenged WBA light-flyweight champion Ryoichi Taguchi on August 31, 2016, but lost a unanimous decision. His world championship reign therefore belonged to minimumweight, followed by a separate challenge at 108 pounds.
The Velarde defense ended at 2:22 of round five after Miyazaki landed a left hook. His September meeting with Silvestre lasted the full twelve rounds, producing a majority decision. Those contrasting victories gave the reign both a stoppage defense and a successful distance contest before Miyazaki left the division.
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Article Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
