Shinsuke Yamanaka


Shinsuke Yamanaka is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 2006 to 2018. He held the WBC bantamweight title from 2011 to 2017, a reign where he made twelve successful defences and a reign which is the fourth longest in boxing's bantamweight division. He also held The Ring bantamweight title twice between 2016 and 2018.
Stylistically, Yamanaka was known as a brawler who sought to stand and trade punches with his opponents. As a southpaw, his left cross was particularly renowned as a devastating punch. He was considered an entertaining fighter, with many of his fights featuring several knockdowns. However, he also showed the ability to box on the outside. Yamanaka's height and reach gave him a significant physical advantage over most fighters at his weight class.
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Amateur career

Yamanaka became interested in the sport of boxing as a result of seeing the likes Joichiro Tatsuyoshi, Mike Tyson, and Naseem Hamed on TV. He amassed a 34–13 amateur record. During this time, he defeated future world champion Takahiro Ao. However, Yamanaka has referred to his amateur career as "average".

Professional career

Yamanaka trains at the storied Teiken Gym in Tokyo under former pro boxer and Japanese nation champion Yamato Shin. Yamanaka has currently made twelve successful consecutive defences of the WBC and The Ring bantamweight titles and previously ranked 9th in The Ring pound for pound listings.

Early career

Yamanaka debuted at the age of 23 in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall, where he would fight 14 of his first 15 fights. Over his first 8 pro bouts he amassed a 6-0-2 with 2 razor-thin decisions. Yamanaka would improve on the ring by stopping his next 5 opponents. On June 20, 2010, Yamanaka defeated Mikio Yasuda to win the Japanese bantamweight title. He'd only defend that title once against highly touted prospect Ryosuke Iwasa, stopping him in 10 rounds.

Yamanaka vs. Esquivel

Yamanaka captured the vacant WBC bantamweight title in his first world title shot against Mexico's Christian Esquivel via an eleventh-round technical knockout after knocking him down in the sixth and eleventh rounds at the Yoyogi National Stadium Second Gymnasium in Tokyo on November 6, 2011. Yamanaka was presented with the Rookie Award both in the forty-fourth Japan Professional Sports Awards and Japan's Boxer of the Year in 2011.

Yamanaka vs. Darchinyan, Rojas

Yamanaka's first defense came against former flyweight and super flyweight titlist Vic Darchinyan in April 2012. Darchinyan had unsuccessfully attempted to become a 3-weight world champion twice before, losing by decision to Abner Mares and Anselmo Moreno. Yamanaka won the fight by unanimous decision, but Darchinyan would become the first fighter to last 12 rounds against the WBC champion since 2008. Yamanaka defended his title once more in 2012 against Tomas Rojas, knocking the former WBC super flyweight champion out in the 7th round with a left-hand cross.

Various defenses

Yamanaka would go on to face Malcolm Tuñacao on his third defense. Yamanaka would end up winning by technical knockout on the 12th round after knocking Tuñacao down three times in the course of the fight. Yamanaka's fourth defense came against José Nieves, whom he knocked out in the first with an overhand left. Yamanaka's final defense of 2013 would be against Alberto Guevara. Yamanaka would once again knock his opponent down three times before finishing him with a left-hand in the 9th. In 2014, Yamanaka notched 2 more defenses. The first came against Stephen Jamoye, whom he knocked down 4 times before stopping him in the 9th round. The second one would come against Suriyan Sor Rungvisai. Yamanaka dropped Sor Rungvisai 3 times but was unable to finish him, winning by unanimous decision but ending a 5 fight knockout-streak. His first defense of 2015 came against Diego Santillan, who touched the canvas twice before being stopped on the 7th round.

Yamanaka vs. Moreno

Yamanaka would run into his toughest fight yet in his ninth title defense against former WBA champion Anselmo Moreno. The fight took place on September 22, 2015, in Ōta, Tokyo. Moreno, a classical out-boxer, kept Yamanaka from landing his signature left-hand using his jab and movement to neutralize the WBC champion. Moreno would pull ahead on the scorecard by landing combinations during the middle rounds. Yamanaka and Moreno traded power punches in the latter third of the fight, with Yamanaka seemingly getting the better of the fight during this stretch. The final round would end with both fighters visibly tired and resorting to holding. With no clear winner, the fight was ruled a controversial split decision won by Yamanaka. The three judges were all from the United States, but many observers and Moreno himself felt they had favored the local fighter.

Yamanaka vs. Solís

Yamanaka's next defense would come against Liborio Solís on March 4, 2016. Solís proved to be another tough test for the WBC champion. Yamanaka sought to establish himself early, winning the first round and knocking his opponent down in the second. However, Solís would come back and drop Yamanaka with a right-hand in the third round. Yamanaka seemed to recover, but late on that same round he was dropped again by a well-timed counter from Solís. Yamanaka would rally after that round, proceeding to drop Solís once more in the 9th round. Both fighters would continue trading punches until the final bell, but Yamanaka had dominated most of the fight and he was given a unanimous decision.

Yamanaka vs. Moreno II

Roughly 2 months after the Yamanaka-Solís bout, Anselmo Moreno had defeated previous WBC title challenger Soriyan Sor Rungvisai to become Yamanaka's mandatory challenger, setting up a rematch. The rematch would take place at the Edion Arena in September 2016. Moreno tried to stifle Yamanaka with his jab once again but Yamanaka had more success landing counters, even dropping Moreno once on the opening round. The two fighters would go on to trade knockdowns, with the defending champion going down in the 4th and the challenger going down in the 6th. The seventh round proved to the decisive one, as Yamanaka knocked Moreno down twice more before the referee waved the fight off. With this seventh-round technical knockout victory, Yamanaka won the vacant The Ring bantamweight title.

Yamanaka vs. Carlson

On March 2, 2017, Yamanaka fought overmatched opponent Carlos Carlson to a seventh-round TKO win. Carlson was ranked #6 by the WBC. This made for Yamanaka's twelfth successful title defense in a row, the second most title defenses in a row by a Japanese boxer ever.

Yamanaka vs. Nery

Yamanaka's 13th defense would come against #1 WBC contender Luis Nery in Kyoto. With this fight, Yamanaka sought to equal Yoko Gushiken's record for most successful defenses by a Japanese world champion. The bout started with both fighters trading back and forth combinations, but at the start of the fourth round Nery rocked Yamanaka with a left cross. After a brief respite in which Yamanaka seemed to regain control, Nery continued pummeling the defending champion, who was unable to defend himself. Yamanaka's corner eventually rushed into the ring to protect their fighter, giving Nery the win. The fight was seen by an audience of over 7 million people in Japan. In a press conference after the fight, Yamanaka stated that he was unhappy with the stoppage but he didn't blame his trainers for it. Yamanaka also said he was considering retirement but he was open to a rematch with Nery.
Following Nery testing positive for zilpaterol, a banned substance, The Ring reinstated Yamanaka as their bantamweight champion. On October 31, the WBC made its final ruling on Nery's positive test. The sanctioning body concluded that the positive test was due to contaminated food. Consequently, the result of the Yamanaka-Nery title bout wouldn't be overturned but the WBC ordered a rematch.
Days after the ruling, Yamanaka confirmed he wouldn't retire and would come back for the rematch.

Yamanaka vs. Nery II

During the weigh-in prior to the bout, Nery came in at 123 pounds, five pounds over the limit for the bantamweight division. Despite cutting two pounds before the final weigh-in, he was stripped of his title prior to the bout for failing to make weight. The fight continued regardless, leaving Yamanaka with a chance to regain the title should he win the fight.
Nery knocked Yamanaka down with an overhand left near the end of the first round, and although Yamanaka beat the count, he did not appear to recover during the break, and was knocked down a further three times in the next round before the referee called off the fight at 1:03 into the second round.
After the fight, the WBC announced that it would be suspending Nery indefinitely for his failure to make weight, removing him from their ranking system and preventing him from competing for any WBC belt.
Yamanaka announced his retirement following the fight.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
31LossLuis NeryTKO2, 1:02Mar 1, 2018Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, JapanLost The Ring bantamweight title;
For vacant WBC bantamweight title
30Loss27–1–2Luis NeryTKO4, 2:29Aug 15, 2017Shimadzu Arena, Kyoto, JapanLost WBC and The Ring bantamweight titles;
Yamanaka later reinstated as champion by The Ring after Nery failed a drug test
29Win27–0–2Carlos CarlsonTKO7, 0:57Mar 2, 2017Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBC and The Ring bantamweight titles
28Win26–0–2Anselmo MorenoTKO7, 1:09Sep 16, 2016Edion Arena, Osaka, JapanRetained WBC bantamweight title;
Won vacant The Ring bantamweight title
27Win25–0–2Liborio SolísUD12Mar 4, 2016Shimadzu Arena, Kyoto, JapanRetained WBC bantamweight title
26Win24–0–2Anselmo MorenoSD12Sep 22, 2015Ota City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBC bantamweight title
25Win23–0–2Diego SantillanKO7, 0:36Apr 16, 2015Bodymaker Colosseum, Osaka, JapanRetained WBC bantamweight title
24Win22–0–2Suriyan Sor RungvisaiUD12Oct 22, 2014Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBC bantamweight title
23Win21–0–2Stephane JamoyeTKO9, 0:11Apr 23, 2014Jō Hall, Osaka, JapanRetained WBC bantamweight title
22Win20–0–2Alberto GuevaraKO9, 0:25Nov 10, 2013Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBC bantamweight title
21Win19–0–2Jose NievesKO1, 2:40Aug 12, 2013Ota City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBC bantamweight title
20Win18–0–2Malcolm TuñacaoTKO12, 1:57Apr 8, 2013Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBC bantamweight title
19Win17–0–2Tomás RojasKO7, 0:36Nov 3, 2012Xebio Arena, Sendai, JapanRetained WBC bantamweight title
18Win16–0–2Vic DarchinyanUD12Apr 6, 2012International Forum, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBC bantamweight title
17Win15–0–2Christian EsquivelTKO11, 1:28Nov 6, 2011Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo, JapanWon vacant WBC bantamweight title
16Win14–0–2Ryosuke IwasaTKO10, 1:28Mar 5, 2011Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese bantamweight title
15Win13–0–2José Silveira9, 3:00Oct 24, 2010Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan
14Win12–0–2Mikio YasudaTKO7, 0:50Jun 20, 2010Sumiyoshi Ward Center, Osaka, JapanWon Japanese bantamweight title
13Win11–0–2Kazuharu Morimoto1, 1:44Mar 6, 2010Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
12Win10–0–2Yuta UetaniTKO1, 2:02Nov 7, 2009Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
11Win9–0–2Masanori MurataTKO1, 2:17Jul 4, 2009Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
10Win8–0–2Wanpadechsuk SithsaithongTKO3, 1:39Mar 21, 2009Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
9Win7–0–2Ryuichi FunaiTKO7, 2:54Jan 17, 2009Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
8Win6–0–2Zaragoza UemaUD8Oct 4, 2008Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
7Draw5–0–2Kenichi YamaguchiPTS8Apr 22, 2008Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
6Win5–0–1Toyoto Shiraishi8Oct 31, 2007Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
5Win4–0–1Yoichi Oguma6Aug 29, 2007Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
4Win3–0–1Takeo SatoTKO2, 2:34Apr 7, 2007Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
3Win2–0–1Yuta Sato2, 0:41Dec 16, 2006Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
2Draw1–0–1Keiji Yokomamura5Aug 23, 2006Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
1Win1–0Hitoshi Takahashi6Jan 7, 2006Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan