Yusuke Kobori


Yusuke Kobori is a retired professional boxer from Japan and a former WBA lightweight champion.

Professional career

Kobori won the Japanese super featherweight title on January 14, 2006 by knocking out Keita Manabe in the second round. He went on to defend it 6 times.
Later, he took on Nicaraguan José Alfaro for the WBA lightweight List of [lightweight boxing champions#WBA|title] on May 19, 2008. Although he was backed against the ropes and counted in the second round, Kobori was able to carry on strong in the fight. In the third round, after doing a lot of defense, Kobori landed a punch which sent Alfaro to the canvass. Alfaro managed to beat the count but was in an unsteady state. Kobori charged to land a series of punches, prompting the referee to wave the fight off. With the win, Kobori became Japan's third world champion at lightweight and first since Takanori Hatakeyama in 2000.
Kobori attempted to defend his title against Paulus Moses on January 3, 2009. He, however, lost the match and the crown by unanimous decision.
While training for his next bout, Kobori developed serious neck and waist problems which prompted him to quit boxing.
He worked as a trainer for the Kadoebi Boxing Gym from 2016 to 2019.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
27LossPaulus MosesUD12 2009-01-03Pacifico, Yokohama, JapanLost WBA lightweight title
26Win23–2–1José AlfaroTKO3 2008-05-19Differ Ariake, Tokyo, JapanWon WBA lightweight title
25Win22–2–1Hiroyasu MatsuzakiUD10 2008-01-05Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese super-featherweight title
24Win21–2–1Takashi MiuraUD10 2007-09-15Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese super-featherweight title
23Win20–2–1Junji MurakamiTKO7 2007-05-19Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese super-featherweight title;
Won vacant OBPF super-featherweight title
22Win19–2–1Dainoshin KumaTKO3 2007-01-06Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese super-featherweight title
21Win18–2–1Akio MikamiTD10 2006-11-04Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese super-featherweight title
20Win17–2–1Kazunori FujitaTKO6 2006-05-06Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese super-featherweight title
19Win16–2–1Keita ManabeTKO2 2006-01-14Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanWon vacant Japanese super-featherweight title
18Win15–2–1Tetsuya SuzukiTKO4 2005-08-06Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
17Win14–2–1Akira YamazakiUD10 2005-05-12Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
16Draw13–2–1Akira YamazakiTD9 2004-12-18Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
15Win13–2Momotaro KitajimaUD8 2004-09-04Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
14Win12–2Masato AoyagiTKO6 2004-05-23Kose Sports Park, Kōfu, Japan
13Win11–2Tetsuya ShinozakiMD10 2003-12-10Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
12Win10–2Ryuji NishiharaUD8 2003-06-23Arena, Yokohama, Japan
11Loss9–2Takanori KariyaMD8 2003-05-03Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
10Win9–1Jaguar TetsuyaUD10 2003-01-11Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
9Win8–1Premsiri NapattayaKO1 2002-10-05Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
8Win7–1Zenyu ShakusonTKO8 2002-06-01Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
7Win6–1Kenta UemuraTKO2 2002-04-03Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
6Win5–1Seishiro TashiroMD6 2002-02-13Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
5Win4–1Yoshiro YagihashiKO1 2001-10-17Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
4Win3–1Kei SanoUD4 2001-08-04Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
3Loss2–1Yuji OnozakiKO2 2001-04-07Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
2Win2–0Ryoji NakaiUD4 2000-08-05Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
1Win1–0Makoto SatoKO2 2000-02-19Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan