Yudai Shigeoka: Boxing Career and Notable Fights
Yudai Shigeoka is a Japanese former professional boxer from Kumamoto who held the World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight title. He turned professional in 2019 after an amateur career recorded by the WBC as 82 wins and 10 losses.
Yudai Shigeoka’s boxing career
Shigeoka won the WBC interim title by stopping former champion Wilfredo Méndez, then became full champion with a unanimous-decision victory over Panya Pradabsri on October 7, 2023. His first title defense came against Melvin Jerusalem on March 31, 2024; Jerusalem scored two knockdowns and won a split decision.
Jerusalem also won their rematch on March 30, 2025, taking a unanimous decision to retain the WBC title. Shigeoka announced his retirement in August 2025 at age 28, saying he would step away from boxing to support his younger brother, Ginjiro.
Further career results
Before the world championship, Shigeoka built a collection of domestic and regional titles. He stopped Ryu Horikawa in the fifth round for the vacant Japanese youth light-flyweight belt in February 2021. In November he moved into a twelve-round contest with former OPBF champion Tsubasa Koura, winning a majority decision for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific minimumweight championship. A third-round stoppage of Tatsuro Nakashima in November 2022 then brought the vacant Japanese minimumweight title. The Shigeoka brothers’ championship campaigns developed together. Both won interim world titles on the same April 2023 card: Yudai against Méndez and Ginjiro against Rene Mark Cuarto. Both then won full championships on the same October 2023 show, with Ginjiro defeating Daniel Valladares while Yudai outpointed Pradabsri. Their later losses and the injury suffered by Ginjiro changed that shared trajectory. Yudai’s August 13, 2025 retirement announcement made clear that he was leaving the ring to support his brother and family. His last professional contest remained the second Jerusalem fight.
The WBC confirmed his retirement in a public announcement, citing his decision to be with his brother and support their family.
Sources
Additional sources: https://www.sportsbetlistings.com/boxing/melvin-jerusalem-vs-yudai-shigeoka-betting-odds-and-prediction/26681/; https://wbcboxing.com/en/yudai-shigeoka-retires/
- World Boxing Council: Jerusalem vs. Shigeoka II preview and career background
- World Boxing Council: Jerusalem retains the title in the 2025 rematch
- World Boxing Council: Shigeoka announces retirement
