Seiya Tsutsumi (堤聖也, born December 24, 1995) is a Japanese professional boxer who has held the WBAbantamweight title since October 2024.
Boxing career
Early career
Tsutsumi made professional debut on March 27, 2018, winning the bout by KO in the first round.[1]
Then, in September 2019, Tsutsumi transferred to Kakuebi Geki Boxing Gym.[2] After that, he entered the GOD'S LEFT bantamweight tournament as a seed in the first round and entered the semi-finals, and was scheduled to compete in the semi-finals against Kenya Yamashita at Korakuen Hall on November 9 of the same year, but the match was canceled due to Yamashita's withdrawal.[3] He advanced to the finals with a bye.[4]
On January 28, 2020, Tsutsumi faced Kazuki Nakajima, ranked 6th in the Japanese bantamweight division, in the tournament final. The match ended in a majority draw at 0-1 (75–77, 76-76, 76-76) after 8 rounds.[5]
On October 26, 2020, Tsutsumi faced Daigo Higa, a former WBC world flyweight champion. The fight ended in a majority draw, one judge scoring it in favour of Higa, 96–94, while the other two judges saw the fight as a draw, scoring it 95-95.[6][7]
Japanese bantamweight champion
On June 23, 2022, Tsutsumi fought against Japanese bantamweight champion Kyosuke Sawada. He won the bout by TKO at 47 seconds in the 8th round, successfully winning the title.[8]
On October 20, 2022, in his first Japanese bantamweight title defense, Tsutsumi faced Kenshin Oshima, the 6th ranked Japanese bantamweight. He won the by TKO at 2 minutes and 42 seconds in the 9th round, successfully defending his title for the first time.[9]
On March 20, 2023, in his next Japanese bantamweight title match, Tsutsumi faced Minamide, the No. 1 ranked Japanese bantamweight. He won by TKO at 1 minute 41 seconds in the seventh round, successfully defending his title for the second time. In addition, his opponent Minamide retired from active duty after this match.
On March 31, 2023, it was announced that Tsutsumi would be seeded in the first round and participate in the semi-finals of the Ohashi Boxing Gym's Monster Tournament.[10]
Tsutsumi faced Kazuki Anaguchi on December 26, 2023 on the undercard of Naoya Inoue vs Marlon Tapales. He won the bout by unanimous decision after four knockdowns during the bout to successfully defend his Japanese bantamweight belt.[11] Sadly, Anaguchi never regained consciousness, dying six weeks later.[12][13]
Tsutsumi vacated the Japanese bantamweight title on January 6, 2024, in order to pursue a world bantamweight title.[14]
WBA Bantamweight Championship
Tsutsumi vs. Inoue
Tsutsumi challenged Takuma Inoue for his WBA bantamweight title at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on October 13, 2024.[15] He won the fight and the title by unanimous decision.[16]
