Hidenobu Honda: Japanese Champion and World Challenger
Hidenobu Honda (本田 秀伸) is a retired Japanese boxer who competed professionally from 1994 to 2010. He won the Japanese light-flyweight title and challenged for world championships at flyweight and super flyweight.
Japanese Title and Professional Career
Honda won the vacant Japanese light-flyweight title in December 1996 with a 10-round decision over Ryuji Muramatsu, then made successful defenses. He later boxed across several divisions and continued competing into 2010. A Japanese boxing record archive lists his career at 33 wins and eight losses, with 15 knockouts, and identifies the Japanese light-flyweight championship as his major title.
World-Title Challenges
In November 2002, Honda challenged WBC flyweight champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in Osaka and lost a 12-round unanimous decision. He later challenged WBA super-flyweight champion Alexander Muñoz in October 2003, also losing by unanimous decision. The WBC’s recap and ESPN’s 2003 title-fight report document the two world-title bouts.
Honda did not win a world championship, but he remained active for many years after those title challenges.
Honda’s Japanese title was his principal championship, while the WBC and WBA bouts placed him against reigning world champions in two different divisions. Both ended in unanimous decisions after 12 rounds. That distinction matters: the records document a domestic title and sustained activity, but they do not show a world championship win.
Sources
Career records and reporting: boxinglib.com.
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
