Naoko Fujioka

Naoko Fujioka (藤岡奈穂子, Fujioka Naoko, born 18 August 1975) is a Japanese professional boxer. She is Japan's first ever five-division world champion, having held the WBA female flyweight title between March 2017 to April 2022. She also previously held the WBC female minimumweight; WBO female junior-flyweight; WBA female super-flyweight; and WBO female bantamweight titles between 2012 and 2017. As of September 2020, she is ranked as the world's best active female flyweight by The Ring[2] and BoxRec.[3]

Naoko Fujioka
Statistics
Real name藤岡奈穂子
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 2 in (157 cm)
Reach63+1⁄2 in (161 cm)
Born (1975-08-18) 18 August 1975
Ōsaki, Miyagi, Japan
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights23
Wins19
Wins by KO7
Losses3
Draws1

Professional career

Fujioka made her professional debut on 15 September 2009, scoring a second-round technical knockout (TKO) victory against Napaporn Boonchuon (5–6, 3 KOs) at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.[4] After winning her first three fights, all by TKO, she faced Kanittha Kokietgym (8–2, 2 KOs) for the vacant WBC-OPBF female minimumweight title on 24 September 2010, at the Korakuen Hall. Fujioka captured her first professional title via unanimous decision (UD), with two judges scoring the bout 98–92 and the third scoring it 98–93.[5]

She successfully defended her WBC regional title in December before challenging for her first world title against reigning champion Anabel Ortiz. The bout took place on 8 May 2011 at the Korakuen Hall. Fujioka captured Ortiz' WBC female minimumweight title by eighth-round corner retirement (RTD) after Ortiz failed to come off her stool for the ninth round. At the time of the stoppage, Fujioka was ahead on all three judges' scorecards by 78–72.[6]

Following four more wins, including two defences of her WBC world title against Kanittha Kokietgym in September 2011[7] and Victoria Argueta in October 2012,[8] Fujioka moved up three weight divisions to challenge Naoko Yamaguchi for her WBA female super-flyweight title on 13 November 2013 at the Korakuen Hall. Fujioka scored a third-round knockdown en route to a UD victory to become a two division world champion, with two judges scoring the bout 97–92 and the third scoring it 98–91.[9] After successfully defending her title against Tomoko Kawanishi in July 2014,[10] Fujioka moved down in weight to challenge Susi Kentikian for her WBA female flyweight title on 8 November 2014 at the Porsche-Arena in Stuttgart, Germany. Fighting for the first time outside of Japan, Fujioka suffered the first defeat of her career in her attempt at a third world title via UD, with the judges' scorecards reading 96–94, 97–94 and 97–93.[11]

She bounced back from defeat with a split decision (SD) win against Mariana Juárez in March 2015[12] before facing Hee Jung Yuh for the vacant WBO female bantamweight title. The bout took place on 19 October 2015 at the Korakuen Hall. Fujioka defeated Jung Yuh by UD, becoming a three-division world champion with two judges scoring the fight 100–90 and the third scoring it 99–91.[13] Following a successful defence against Shindo Go in June 2016,[14] she moved down two-divisions to challenge Jessica Chávez for her WBC female flyweight title on 1 October 2016 at Centro Regional de Deporte de Las Américas in Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico. In a contest which saw Fujioka knocked down in the sixth round and a point deduction from Chavez in the tenth and final round for excessive holding, Fujioka suffered the second defeat of her career via UD, with the scorecards reading 94–93, 95–93 and 96–92.[15]

In her next fight she faced Isabel Millan, making her second attempt for the WBA female flyweight title which was left vacant by Kentikian. The bout took place on 13 March 2017 at the Korakuen Hall. Fujioka dropped Millan twice, first in the second round and again in the tenth and final round, prompting the referee to call off the fight 21 seconds into the round, awarding Fujioka a TKO victory. At the time of the stoppage, all three judges had her ahead, with scores of 89–81 twice and 88–82. With the win, she became Japan's first ever four-division world champion.[16][17] She moved down in weight for her next fight, facing Yokasta Valle for the vacant WBO junior-flyweight title on 1 December 2017 at the Korakuen Hall. Fujioka defeated Valle via UD with scores of 99–91, 98–92, and 96–94[18] to become Japan's first ever five-division world champion.[19] Moving back up to flyweight, she successfully defended her WBA title by UD against Irma Sánchez in September 2018[20] before retaining the title through a split draw (SD) against WBO female junior-flyweight champion Tenkai Tsunami in July 2019.[21]

Professional boxing record
23 fights 19 wins 3 losses
By knockout 7 0
By decision 12 3
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
23 Loss 19–3 Marlen Esparza UD 10 9 Apr 2022 Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Lost WBA female flyweight title;
For WBC and inaugural The Ring female flyweight titles
22 Win 19–2 Sulem Ochoa MD 10 9 Jul 2021 Banc of California Stadium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. Retained WBA female flyweight title
21 Draw 18–2–1 Tenkai Tsunami SD 10 12 Jul 2019 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBA female flyweight title
20 Win 18–2 Irma Sánchez UD 10 14 Sep 2018 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBA female flyweight title
19 Win 17–2 Yokasta Valle UD 10 1 Dec 2017 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Won vacant WBO female junior-flyweight title
18 Win 16–2 Isabel Millan TKO 10 (10), 0:21 13 Mar 2017 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Won vacant WBA female flyweight title
17 Loss 15–2 Jessica Chávez UD 10 1 Oct 2016 Centro Regional de Deporte de Las Américas, Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico For WBC female flyweight title
16 Win 15–1 Shindo Go UD 10 13 Jun 2016 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBO female bantamweight title
15 Win 14–1 Hee Jung Yuh UD 10 19 Oct 2015 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Won vacant WBO female bantamweight title
14 Win 13–1 Mariana Juárez SD 10 14 Mar 2015 Auditorio Municipal, Naucalpan, Mexico
13 Loss 12–1 Susi Kentikian UD 10 8 Nov 2014 Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, Germany For WBA female flyweight title
12 Win 12–0 Tomoko Kawanishi UD 10 7 Jul 2014 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBA female super-flyweight title
11 Win 11–0 Naoko Yamaguchi UD 10 13 Nov 2013 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Won WBA female super-flyweight title
10 Win 10–0 Maribel Ramírez KO 4 (8), 1:30 12 Mar 2013 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
9 Win 9–0 Victoria Argueta UD 10 28 Oct 2012 Furukawa Sogo Gym, Ōsaki, Japan Retained WBC female strawweight title
8 Win 8–0 Mayela Perez UD 8 11 Jul 2012 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
7 Win 7–0 Kanittha Kokietgym TKO 9 (10), 0:37 22 Sep 2011 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBC female strawweight title
6 Win 6–0 Anabel Ortiz RTD 8 (10), 2:00 8 May 2011 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Won WBC female strawweight title
5 Win 5–0 Naoko Shibata UD 10 15 Dec 2010 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBC-OPBF female strawweight title
4 Win 4–0 Kanittha Kokietgym UD 10 24 Sep 2010 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Won vacant WBC-OPBF female strawweight title
3 Win 3–0 Pornboonon Por Vongporramet TKO 2 (8), 1:58 1 Apr 2010 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
2 Win 2–0 Kazumi Izaki TKO 2 (6), 1:55 30 Nov 2009 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
1 Win 1–0 Napaporn Boonchuon TKO 2 (6), 1:27 15 Sep 2009 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan

See also

References
  1. "Boxing record for Naoko Fujioka". BoxRec.
  2. "The Ring Women's Ratings". The Ring. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  3. "BoxRec: Female flyweight ratings". boxrec.com. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  4. "BoxRec: Naoko Fujioka vs. Napaporn Boonchuon". boxrec.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  5. "BoxRec: Naoko Fujioka vs. Kanittha Kokietgym". boxrec.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  6. "BoxRec: Naoko Fujioka vs. Anabel Ortiz". boxrec.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  7. "BoxRec: Naoko Fujioka vs. Kanittha Kokietgym II". boxrec.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  8. McGrady, Jim (29 October 2012). "Women's Boxing: The Weekly Wrap Up". The Boxing Tribune. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  9. "Naoko Fujioka dethrones Yamaguchi in Tokyo". World Boxing Association. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  10. McGrady, Jim (9 July 2014). "Fujioka Retains WBA Title: Women's Boxing – The Weekly Wrap Up". The Boxing Tribune. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  11. Fischer, Doug (8 November 2014). "Felix Sturm, Robert Stieglitz battle to split-draw verdict". The Ring. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  12. Donovan, Jake (15 March 2015). "Fujioka Outlasts Juarez In Fight of the Year Candidate". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  13. "Category: Naoko Fujioka Vs Hee Jung Yuh". ASIAN BOXING. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  14. Koizumi, Joe (16 June 2016). "Naoko Fujioka Retains her WBO Title by Unanimous Decision". Women of Boxing. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  15. "Chavez Retains WBC Title, Ashley Unseated of WBC Belt". BoxingScene.com. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  16. "Category: Naoko Fujioka Vs Isabel Millan". ASIAN BOXING. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  17. "Naoko Fujioka vs. Isabel Millan". The Ring. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  18. "BoxRec: Naoko Fujioka vs. Yokasta Valle". boxrec.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  19. "Photo gallery: Naoko Fujioka vs. Yokasta Valle". The Ring. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  20. "Category: Naoko Fujioka Vs Irma Sanchez". ASIAN BOXING. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  21. "Naoko Fujioka Escapes Tenkai Tsunami Challenge with her WBA Flyweight Title After Split Draw". Women of Boxing. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
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