Kohei Kono


Kohei Kono is a Japanese professional boxer. He is a two-time world champion, having held the WBA super-flyweight title twice between 2012 and 2016 with three successful defenses.

Professional career

Kono made his professional debut at the Korakuen Hall in November 2000, losing on points to Toshiaki Niita. He had little amateur experience before his professional debut. However, Kono was able to win 17 of his first 20 pro bouts, steadily climbing up the rankings. Kono's first title fight would be for the Japanese super flyweight title against Teppei Kikui in February 2007. Kono won the fight and the national title by unanimous decision. He then won the OPBF super flyweight title against Eden Sonsona by split decision.
In September 2008, Kono fought Nobuo Nashiro for the vacant WBA super flyweight world title. Nashiro had previously held the WBA title. In a close, contested fight, he would reclaim the belt, beating Kono by split decision. After the fight, Kono said ""I was able to keep my own rhythm and I thought I won. I think I hit some good punches. I did my best, but I must accept the result."
Kono once again fought for a vacant world title, facing Tomás Rojas for the WBC super flyweight title. This time Kono lost a wide unanimous decision, despite dropping Rojas in the final round. Kono's career suffered more setbacks, dropping decisions to Yota Sato and Yohei Tobe following his loss to Rojas.
Kono captured the WBA super flyweight title in his third world title shot against Thailand's Tepparith Kokietgym via fourth round knockout. at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo on December 31, 2012. Kono dropped the Thai champion three times during round 4. The result was considered an upset. Yota Sato, who held the WBC title expressed interest in rematching Kono in a unification bout. Kono would lose his title in his first defense, dropping a majority decision to Liborio Solís in a fight where both fighters traded knockdowns.
After Solís lost his title due to being unable to make weight in his next fight, Kono faced Denkaosan Kaovichit for the vacant WBA title. Denkaosan went down in round 4, but was ahead on the scorecards before Kono knocked him out in round 8 with a cross. Kono's first defense saw him fight to a split draw against Norberto Jiménez. He then fought Kōki Kameda at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. In a scrappy brawl that saw both fighters lose points on the scorecards due to fouls, Kono retained his title, dropping Kameda in round 2 en route to winning a unanimous decision. Kono would lose his title in a unification bout against the WBA's interim champion Luis Concepción. Concepción won the fight by unanimous decision.
Kono challenged WBO super flyweight champion Naoya Inoue in December 2016. Inoue stopped Kono in a commanding performance. Kono was dropped once by a left hook from Inoue before being stopped in the sixth round. This was the first time Kono lost a fight due to stoppage. In October 2017, Kono faced Rex Tso. Tso had sought to fight Kono while the latter was still a world champion, but was unable to draw him into the ring. After six rounds, Tso was unable to continue due to swelling around his eye. Nevertheless, Tso remained unbeaten by winning a technical decision.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
46Loss33–12–1 Jason Moloney6, 3:00May 19, 2018 Town Hall, Malvern, AustraliaFor WBA Oceania bantamweight title
45Loss33–11–1 Rex TsoTD7 Oct 7, 2017 Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong, SARFor WBO International super-flyweight title;
Unanimous TD after Tso sustained swelling from an accidental head clash
44Win33–10–1 Rambo SithsaithongTKO5, 1:35Jul 23, 2017 Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan
43Loss32–10–1 Naoya InoueTKO6, 1:01Dec 30, 2016 Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, JapanFor WBO super-flyweight title
42Loss32–9–1 Luis ConcepciónUD12Aug 31, 2016 Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, JapanLost WBA super-flyweight title
41Win32–8–1 Tanawat PhonnakuUD12Apr 27, 2016 Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBA super-flyweight title
40Win31–8–1 Kōki KamedaUD12Oct 16, 2015 UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.Retained WBA super-flyweight title
39Draw30–8–1 Norberto Jimenez12Dec 31, 2014 Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBA super-flyweight title
38Win30–8 Denkaosan KaovichitKO8, 0:50Mar 26, 2014 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanWon vacant WBA super-flyweight title
37Win29–8 Dawut ManopkanchangTKO3, 0:50Dec 31, 2013 Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan
36Loss28–8 Liborio SolísMD12May 6, 2013 Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, JapanLost WBA super-flyweight title
35Win28–7 Tepparith SingwanchaKO4, 2:08Dec 31, 2012 Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, JapanWon WBA super-flyweight title
34Win27–7 Petchbarngborn KokietgymUD8Sep 10, 2012 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
33Win26–7 Yusaku IshikawaTKO5, 1:14Mar 31, 2012 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
32Loss25–7 Yohei TobeUD8Oct 10, 2011 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
31Loss25–6 Yota SatoUD10Apr 9, 2011 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanFor Japanese super-flyweight title
30Loss25–5 Tomás RojasUD12Sep 20, 2010 Super Arena, Saitama, JapanFor vacant WBC super-flyweight title
29Win25–4 Masafumi TonomuraTKO11, 2:28May 17, 2010 Super Arena, Saitama, JapanRetained OPBF super-flyweight title
28Win24–4 Marvin TampusUD12Oct 3, 2009 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanRetained OPBF super-flyweight title
27Win23–4 Daniel FerrerasUD12May 2, 2009 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanWon vacant OPBF super-flyweight title
26Win22–4 Hendrik BarongsayTKO6, 2:28Feb 7, 2009 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
25Loss21–4 Nobuo NashiroSD12Sep 15, 2008 Pacifico, Yokohama, JapanFor vacant WBA super-flyweight title
24Win21–3 Kuniyuki AizawaUD12Feb 16, 2008 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanRetained OPBF and Japanese super-flyweight titles
23Win20–3 Eden SonsonaSD12Oct 6, 2007 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanWon vacant OPBF super-flyweight title
22Win19–3 Kenji Saegusa9, 1:05Jun 2, 2007 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese super-flyweight title
21Win18–3 Teppei KikuiUD10Feb 12, 2007 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanWon Japanese super-flyweight title
20Win17–3 Saichon Or OunsuwonTKO6, 2:41Sep 4, 2006 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
19Win16–3 Prosper MatsuuraTKO9, 1:50Feb 11, 2006 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
18Win15–3 Petchdam SithsaithongKO2, 1:07Oct 24, 2005 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
17Loss14–3 Teppei KikuiUD8Jul 16, 2005 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
16Win14–2 Kyohei WadaUD8Feb 1, 2005 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
15Win13–2 Munetake EgawaSD8Aug 25, 2004 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
14Win12–2 Kengo WakaoTKO7, 1:05May 20, 2004 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
13Win11–2 Asahi TakanoUD8Feb 5, 2004 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
12Win10–2 Teppei Kikui8Nov 4, 2003 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
11Win9–2 Makoto HorinouchiTKO2, 2:54Jun 26, 2003 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
10Loss8–2 Daigo NakahiroUD6Dec 22, 2002 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
9Win8–1 Kenji SaegusaUD6Nov 9, 2002 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
8Win7–1 Yuichiro KomuroUD6Sep 26, 2002 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
7Win6–1 Yuki KishiUD6Aug 2, 2002 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
6Win5–1 Kosuke Takamizawa4, 1:54May 31, 2002 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
5Win4–1 Ryoji Arai1, 2:07Jan 28, 2002 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
4Win3–1 Yosuke IshiwatariUD4Sep 26, 2001 Bunka Gym, Yokohama, Japan
3Win2–1 Takaaki HayashiUD4Jun 19, 2001 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
2Win1–1 Kazuya Hirata4Apr 18, 2001 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
1Loss0–1 Toshiaki Nitta4Nov 22, 2000 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan