Riku Masuda (boxer)
Japanese boxer (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Riku Masuda (増田陸, Masuda Riku; born 23 September 1997) is a Japanese professional boxer who competes in the Bantamweight division.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 増田陸 |
| Born | September 23, 1997 Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan |
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Weight | |
| Boxing career | |
| Reach | 175 cm (69 in) |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record[1] | |
| Total fights | 11 |
| Wins | 10 |
| Win by KO | 9 |
| Losses | 1 |
Amateur career
Masuda represented and fought for Koryo High School in Hiroshima and Rikkyo University in Tokyo and is of the Teiken Boxing Gym stable. He fought a total of 66 amateur bouts, winning 54 and losing 12, on 2021 he passed the B-class test, thus, making him eligible to debut in a six-rounder bout when he turns professional.[2]
Professional career
Early career
On 2 July 2022, Masuda made his debut against Thai Worraphon Yothika in a six-rounds junior bantamweight bout in the Korakuen Hall. Masuda won via first-round KO within 1 minute and 50 seconds.[3]
On his third bout, Masuda fought 12–2 national contender Fumiya Fuse (seldom named Ikuya Tomise in a few articles) in an eight-rounds bout in Tokyo, Japan at the "Naoya Inoue 4-Belt Unification Commemorative Monster Tournament" or the "Monster Tournament" (for short) qualifiers. Masuda knocked Fuse down in the first round before Fuse would take him into a grueling seven rounds until he prevailed via seventh-round TKO, thereby advancing Masuda into the semi-finals.[4][5]
On 30 August 2023, for the "Monster Tournament" semi-finals and the Japanese Boxing Commission (JBC) bantamweight championship Masuda was scheduled against Seiya Tsutsumi in Tokyo, Japan.[4] The bout would be intense and competitive, lasting full ten rounds before Masuda would fall short, losing via UD (97–93 and 96–94 twice).[6]
In January 2024, Masuda was announced to be scheduled against former IBF world junior bantamweight world and WBO interim titles-challenger Jonas Sultan in an eight-rounds bout in Tokyo, Japan on 24 February 2024.[7] Masuda scored a shock first-round KO with a singular left body shot that Sultan was unable to recover from, this is also the first time sultan was knocked down and lost via KO or TKO.[8][9]
Japanese bantamweight champion
On 18 July 2024, Masuda rematched defending Japanese bantamweight champion Fumiya Fuse for the Japanese bantamweight championship in Tokyo, Japan. Masuda prevailed with a one-punch KO in the fourth-round, winning the Japanese bantamweight belt.[5]
He made his first defence of the Japanese strap against unorthodox veteran Yoshihiro Utsumi on 2 November 2024, Masuda struggled to halt his foe early but had a dominant performance en route to a seventh-round TKO.[10] He made his second defence against Kaisei Matsumoto on 1 March 2025. Masuda won via brutal sixth-round stoppage.[11]
Rise up the ranks
On 8 June 2025 at the undercard of Junto Nakatani vs. Ryosuke Nishida, Masuda fought former IBO world bantamweight champion Michell Banquez in a ten-rounds bout in Tokyo, Japan. Masuda was victorious with a spectacular first-round KO, finishing Banquez in less than 90 seconds.[12][13]
On 24 November 2025, Masuda faced the reigning WBC Latino bantamweight champion Jose Calderon at the "Prime Video Boxing 14" card in Tokyo, Japan. Masuda had a more difficult and contested experience with the 5'9 Calderon compared to his previous opponents, in the fifth-round, as Masuda threw a left shot, whilst Calderon threw a left uppercut at the same time, causing an accidental headbutt between the two opposite stances. The accidental headbutt, however, cut Calderon's right eye, which would prompt the ringside medical officials to halt the contest leading to a technical decision. When scorecards were tallied, one judged scored the bout 48–48 tie, but the other judges scored it 49–46 and 48–47 in favour of Masuda, result in a majority decision victory for Masuda.[14]
Masuda vs. Donaire
In January 2026, Masuda, ranked number four by the World Boxing Association (WBA), was set to face four-division world champion legend Nonito Donaire, ranked number 1 by the WBA in a title eliminator on 15 March 2026 in Yokohama, Japan.[15][16] Prior to the bout, Masuda expressed his gratitude to be able to fight the 43-years old legend Donaire, further expressing honour and respect.[17] During the bout, Donaire, the more experienced between the two, fought technically, putting Masuda in a high-level bout, however, the younger Masuda would overwhelm him and his age en route to Donaire's corner throwing the towel amidst the eighth round of their ten-rounds bout.[18][19][20]
Professional boxing record
| 11 fights | 10 wins | 1 loss |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 9 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | Nonito Donaire | TKO | 8 (10), 1:12 | 15 Mar 2026 | Yokohama Buntai, Yokohama, Japan | |
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | José Miguel Calderón | TD | 5 (10), 1:27 | 24 Nov 2025 | Toyota Arena Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan | Majority TD: Calderón cut due to an accidental headbutt |
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | Michell Banquez | KO | 1 (10), 1:27 | 8 Jun 2025 | Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 8 | Win | 7–1 | Kaisei Matsumoto | TKO | 6 (10), 2:18 | 1 Mar 2025 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | Retained Japanese bantamweight title |
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | Yoshihiro Utsumi | TKO | 7 (10), 0:26 | 2 Nov 2024 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | Retained Japanese bantamweight title |
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Fumiya Fuse | KO | 4 (10), 2:21 | 18 Jul 2024 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | Won Japanese bantamweight title |
| 5 | Win | 4–1 | Jonas Sultan | KO | 1 (8), 2:21 | 24 Feb 2024 | Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 4 | Loss | 3–1 | Seiya Tsutsumi | UD | 10 | 30 Aug 2023 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | For Japanese bantamweight title; Monster Bantamweight Tournament semifinals |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Fumiye Fuse | TKO | 7 (8), 3:00 | 20 May 2023 | Sumida City Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan | Monster Bantamweight Tournament qualifiers |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | An Jeong-ho | KO | 1 (6), 2:25 | 3 Dec 2022 | Paradise City Plaza, Incheon, South Korea | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Worraphon Yothika | KO | 1 (6), 1:50 | 2 Jul 2022 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan |