Kosei Tanaka

Tanaka turned pro at the age of 18 in 2013. In November 2014, Tanaka defeated previously unbeaten Ryuji Hara by round 10 TKO to win the OPBF minimumweight title. In his next fight, Tanaka decisioned Julian Yedras (117-111, 117-111, 115-113) to win the WBO minimumweight title.[1] Tanaka holds the Japanese record for winning a world title in the fewest fights (five), surpassing the previous record held by Naoya Inoue of six fights.[2] Tanaka's only title defense at minimumweight came against Vic Saludar, whom he knocked out in round six after a left hook to the body. Saludar knocked down Tanaka in round six, and was ahead on all scorecards prior to the stoppage.[3]

In December 2016, Tanaka challenged former minimumweight title holder Moisés Fuentes for the WBO junior-flyweight title. Tanaka dominated Fuentes, dropping him in round five before referee Raul Caiz Jr stopped the fight, giving Tanaka a TKO victory. With the win, Tanaka became a two-weight world champion in just eight fights.[4] Tanaka's first defense came against prospect Ángel Acosta. The former won a wide unanimous decision (117-110, 117-110, 116-111) and dropped Acosta once. Acosta had won all 16 of his previous fights by knockout.[5]

Tanaka's second defense took place in September 2017 against little-known fighter Palangpol CP Freshmart. Tanaka was a huge favorite going into the fight, but Palangpol would prove to be Tanaka's toughest challenger so far, dropping the defending champion once in the first round and trading back-and-forth combinations for the rest of the bout. After a thrilling fight, Tanaka would finally gain the upper hand in round 9, as he knocked down Palangpol and continued to land big combinations as the challenger struggled to connect. Eventually, the referee stepped in and stopped the fight at 1:52 in round 9.[6][7][8]

Tanaka had previously sought a unification bout against WBA titleholder Ryoichi Taguchi in December,[9] but his injuries during the fight against Palangpol would prevent him from fighting on that date.[10]

In December 2017, Tanaka vacated his junior-flyweight title to move to the flyweight division.[11] In September 2018, Tanaka defeated Sho Kimura to equal Vasyl Lomachenko's record of becoming a three-weight world champion in just 12 fights.