Tomoya Tsuboi Loses World Title Bid by Decision in Record-Tying 5th Pro Fight — 5ch: ‘Marajika Was Just Too Strong’

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The story

Tomoya Tsuboi (30), of the Teiken stable and the first Japanese boxer ever to win an amateur world championship gold medal, challenged for the vacant WBC world super flyweight title in only his 5th professional fight — but lost by decision to South Africa’s Ricardo Marajika (28). Tsuboi’s bid to become champion in a fight count that would have tied Japan’s fastest-ever climb to a world title fell short, not helped by bleeding from an early accidental head clash. On 5ch, opinions split between those calling the decision fair (“he was clearly outpointed in the second half”) and those reassessing the hype around him entirely (“he was just overrated — his skills weren’t there”).

Sports Hochi — published Sun, Sept 27, 19:29

◇Pro Boxing ▽ WBC World Super Flyweight (up to 52.1kg) Title Bout, 12 rounds — Winner by decision: No. 2 contender Ricardo Marajika, over No. 1 contender Tomoya Tsuboi (Sept. 27, Toyota Arena Tokyo)

Tomoya Tsuboi (30, Teiken), Japan’s first amateur world championship gold medalist and the WBC’s No. 1-ranked contender in the division, failed to capture the title. Bidding to become world champion in just his 5th pro fight — a mark that would have tied the Japanese record for fastest ascent to a title — Tsuboi entered the WBC world super flyweight title bout but was pushed hard and lost a decision to No. 2 contender Ricardo Marajika (28, South Africa). The result leaves Tsuboi’s record at 3 wins (2 KOs), 1 loss and 1 no-contest, while Marajika improves to 18 wins (12 KOs) and 2 losses.

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

7AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:34
He was ahead on the 'Teiken decision' for a while
so I figured he had this in the bag
8AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:34
Isn't this the guy who was talking big on Hōdō Station?
That's gonna be some prime dark history for him now
9AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:34
That early cut really hurt him
and Marajika was legit good too
14AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:35
Figured he'd get the usual 'Teiken decision' (slang for suspiciously home-cooked scoring for Teiken-affiliated fighters) handing him the win no matter what — honestly shocked they didn't rig it
16AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:35
Wait, you can get a world title shot after just 5 fights?
54AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:43
Re: #16
being an amateur world champ gets you an easy seed straight into title shots lol
17AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:35
I seriously thought this guy was some unbeatable genius
18AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:35
Not something I could ever do
whoever the champ is, I want to give credit where it's due — congrats!
19AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:36
If a 10cm height gap did this much damage, Inoue might actually lose to Espinoza with a 20cm gap
physical size really is everything…
28AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:37
Re: #19
Espinoza fighting at featherweight is basically a scam. Way too cheap a move
20AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:36
Figured this would just be a stepping stone
but 'Maradeka' (posters' teasing mangling of Marajika's name) turned out to be strong 🤔
21AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:36
Yeah, he lost, no argument there
he was clearly outpointed in the second half, a 3-0 shutout would've been fine too
22AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:36
'Penis-Deer'????? (a crude kanji pun on Marajika's name, 魔羅鹿)
what kind of monster is that!!!
23AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:36
Whoever was hyping this guy up seriously had no eye for talent
forget the lack of power, his technique wasn't even there
24AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:36
First time I'd ever watched him, so all I've seen him do is lose
26AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:37
Thought he was some promising young prospect — turns out he's 30
27AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:37
Smirking the whole way through
he must've figured there was no way he could lose
Teiken's really running short on talent
32AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:39
That head-clash cut decided everything
if he'd had real punching power he could've flipped the fight
but with a pure point-scoring style… yeah, no
36AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:39
Re: #32
he was completely outpointed, lol
40AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:41
Re: #28
yeah it's a dirty trick, but weight classes go by weight, not height
if Espinoza fought in the division actually suited to his height, he'd get wrecked with ease
41AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:41
So the gap was too big for even a 'Teiken decision' to paper over?
47AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:42
This reminded me of the Tatsuyoshi vs. Abraham Torres fight
I really hope Tsuboi takes the harsh reality of the pros to heart
48AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:42
Re: #36
of course he got outpointed
bleeding made him look bad and forced him to keep pressing forward
while his opponent, with the height and reach advantage, could just sit back and box on the counter
content to trade evenly whenever it happened
60AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:46
Yeah, guys from an amateur background just don't have pop in their punches
I've never seen an ex-amateur boxer with real power
they're always scrapping for points in a small-ball way, so it doesn't look good and they never get popular
70AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:50
Re: #60
Uchiyama-san….

・゚・(ノД`;)・゚・ (crying emoticon)
84AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:54
Re: #77
the original genius behind the pendulum batting stance
though after Ichiro ripped off his form, he faded into total obscurity
90AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:59
Re: #84
no, actually Tsuboi copied Ichiro
he's talked about it himself on YouTube
85AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:55
Didn't know you could get a title match after just 5 fights
88AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:58
Re: #85
that's because it was a vacant-title decision bout

Background and Key Points of This Story

Tsuboi climbed to the WBC’s No. 1 ranking on the strength of being Japan’s first amateur world championship gold medalist, and advanced to a “title decision bout” for the vacant championship rather than a challenge against a reigning champ. Worth noting: it’s precisely this “decision bout” framing that qualified him for a world title shot despite a pro career of only 5 fights — a key difference from a standard title defense. Within the thread, opinions split between those who felt the early head-clash cut affected the scoring and those who simply judged him outmatched in skill and power. A broader, more general claim also surfaced — that “boxers from an amateur background lack punching power” — a recurring stereotype about amateur-bred fighters that came up here independent of Tsuboi’s own result.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Sokuhou+) thread “[Boxing] Tomoya Tsuboi Fails to Capture World Title in Record-Tying 5th Fight — Tough Decision Loss to Tricky Marajika, WBC Super Flyweight.”

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