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AAPI Heritage Month

Throughout the history of boxing there have been some great boxers of Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander descent around the world. Boxers such as Choi Chang Jung and Manny Pacquiao whom is one of the greatest Asian boxers today.

For this article we are focusing on the best Asian boxers today of 2023. Before we move to the official rankings, here are some honorable mentions. 

Honorable Mentions

Thammanoon Niyomtrong

Title(s):

• WBA Minimumweight Super Champion

Also known as “Knockout CP Freshmart”. Boxing record of 24 wins and 0 losses. The undefeated boxer did not fight in 2023 but does deserve an honorable mention.

Kazuto Ioka

Title(s):

• WBA Super Flyweight World Champion

The Japanese boxer has 29 wins and 2 losses. Ioka faced Joshua Franco in December 2022 and the fight went into a draw. Ioka rematched Franco in June and won by unanimous decision. His next match is set for December 31st against Josber Perez.

Top 10 Best Asian Boxers 2023 Rankings

10. John Riel Casimero

John Riel Casimero is a professional boxer from the Philippines. With a record of 33 wins and 4 losses, he has held world titles in three different weight classes.

Casimero is the former WBO bantamweight champion. He has also held the IBF junior flyweight and the IBF flyweight title and also won interim titles in both divisions. 

Earlier this year, In his most recent fight, he defeated Fillipus Nghitumbwa and won the WBO Global super bantamweight title. In late 2022 he also defeated Ryo Akaho by knockout.

Recently, he faced Yukinori Oguni to a draw due to an accidental head clash. As of now, there is no announcement of his next fight.

9. Hiroto Kyoguchi

Hiroto Kyoguchi is a Japanese boxer with a record of 18 wins with only 1 loss.

Kyoguchi is the former unified WBA (Super) and The Ring light-flyweight champion. He won the title in 2018 after defeating Hekkie Budler and defended it four times. He is also the former IBF mini-flyweight champion.

In 2023, Kyoguchi defeated Roland Jay Biendima by unanimous decision. Recently in September, he also defeated Jerven Mama by KO in the third round capping off the year.

8. Zhilei Zhang

Title(s):

• WBO Heavyweight Interim Champion

Zhilei Zhang is a Chinese professional boxer with a record of 26 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw. 

Zhang recently won the WBO Interim heavyweight title. He won the title after defeating Joe Joyce in April by TKO. In September, Zhang rematched Joyce and won again by KO in the 3rd round retaining his title.

Zhang has a bright future in the division, however, there is no official announcement about his next fight yet.

7. Yudai Shigeoka

Title(s):

• WBC Mini-Flyweight Interim Champion

Yudai Shigeoka is a Japanese boxer with a record of 8 wins and no losses. 

In April of this year, won with an impressive knockout against Wilfredo Méndez, and became the interim WBC mini-flyweight champion. He also had a couple of solid wins late last year, winning the Japanese Strawweight title and the WBO Asia Pacific mini-flyweight title. 

Recently, Shigeoka defeated Panya Pradabsri by unanimous decision back in October of this year.

There is no official announcement about his next fight yet.

6. Marlon Tapales

Marlon Tapales is a Filipino professional boxer, and he has a record of 37 wins and 4 losses. 

Tapales has had an impressive start to the year, winning the unified  WBA (Super) and IBF super-bantamweight titles in April. Apart from his current titles, Tapales has also previously held the WBO bantamweight world title. 

In April, he defeated Murodjon Akhmadaliev to win his unified title in April, and recently lost both titles to Naoya Inoue who is also on this list.

5. Junto Nakatani

Title(s):

• WBO Super Flyweight World Champion

Now in the Top 5 of the best Asian boxers is Junto Nakatani. Nakatani is a Japanese boxer, with an undefeated record of 26 wins and no losses. 

Nakatani has had a great start to this year, winning the WBO junior bantamweight in May. He also had some solid wins late last year defeating Francisco Rodríguez Jr. in November and is the former WBO Bantamweight champion as well.

He defeated Andrew Moloney in his most recent fight by knockout, and then beat Argi Cortes by unanimous decision. As of now, there is no official announcement about his next fight.

4. Takuma Inoue

Title(s):

• WBA Bantamweight World Champion

Takuma Inoue is a professional boxer from Japan, and he has a record of 18 wins and only 1 loss.

Inoue is the current WBA bantamweight champion of the world and previously held the interim title as well. He is also the former Japanese super-bantamweight national champion. 

He won the WBA title in his last fight after defeating Liborio Solís via Unanimous Decision, defeated Jake Bornea in late 2022 in Tokyo, and his next fight has not been announced yet.

3. Janibek Alimkhanuly

Title(s):

• WBO Middleweight World Champion
• IBF Middleweight World Champion

Fighting out of Kazakhstan, Janibek Alimkhanuly is an undefeated boxer with 15 wins and 0 losses. 

Janibek Alimkhanuly is the current WBO and IBF middleweight world champion, and he has also held multiple regional titles. He won the Vacant WBO title after defeating Danny Dignum via Knockout and has already defended it twice. 

Janibek defeated Steven Butler in May of this year. He won the fight with an impressive knockout in the second round. He also faced Denzel Bentley and won by unanimous decision in late 2022.

In his most recent fight, he defeated Vincenzo Gualtieri by TKO in the 6th round adding IBF title as well. There is no announcement about his next fight.

2. Kenshiro Teraji

Title(s):

• WBA Junior Flyweight Super Champion
• WBC Junior Flyweight World Champion
• The Ring Junior Flyweight World Champion

More commonly known by his ring name Ken Shiro, Kenshiro Teraji is a Japanese professional boxer with a record of 22 wins and 1 loss. 

Ken Shiro is a two-time WBC light-flyweight champion and currently holds the unified WBA (Super), WBC, and The Ring light flyweight titles. 

Ken Shiro defended his unified titles against Anthony Olascuaga, winning by 9th round TKO. In late 2022 he also defeated Hiroto Kyoguchi by TKO.

Recently, Shiro defeated Hekkie Budler in an exciting match beating him by TKO in the 9th round. There is no announcement about his next fight.

1. Naoya Inoue

Title(s):

• WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion
• WBO Super Bantamweight World Champion
• WBA Super Bantamweight Super Champion
• IBF Super Bantamweight World Champion
• The Ring Super Bantamweight World Champion

The #1 Best Asian Boxers and possibly Fighter of the Year is Naoya Inoue. Fighting out of Japan, Inoue is one of the best Japanese boxers ever with a record of 24 wins and 0 losses. 

Inoue has held world titles in three different weight classes, and until recently, he was the Undisputed bantamweight champion of the world. Inoue also held the WBO junior-bantamweight title, and the WBC light-flyweight title and has 15-combined title defenses across all three weight classes. 

This is the year that “The Monster” moved up another division to Super Bantamweight. Inoue defeated Stephen Fulton to win the Super bantamweight title. He won the fight via TKO in the 8th round, after landing a knockdown in the same round.

In his most recent fight, Inoue fought Marlon Tapales, with his unified WBC and WBO super-bantamweight titles, and Tapales’ WBA (Super), IBF, and vacant The Ring titles on the line. He won the fight with a dominant performance, knocking  Tapales twice before getting the KO win in the 10th round.

How would rank these Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander boxers of today? Rank below to be added in the Boxing Power Rankings