Mizuki Hiruta 晝田瑞希 delivered her most full efficiency thus far, efficiently defending her WBO junior bantamweight title for the fifth time with a commanding unanimous resolution victory over Naomy Cardenas Gomez at Chumash On line casino in Santa Ynez, California on August 15, 2025. The scores have been 100-90, 100-90, and 98-92, all in favor of the Tokyo native who prolonged her excellent file to 9-0 (2 KOs).
Mizuki Hiruta 晝田瑞希
The 29-year-old southpaw Mizuki Hiruta managed the combat from the opening bell, using her superior footwork and boxing IQ to maintain Cardenas at bay all through the 10-round contest. Hiruta’s jab served as her major weapon, establishing distance and stopping the Mexican challenger from implementing her pressure-heavy sport plan. The champion caught Cardenas with a notable uppercut within the second spherical, demonstrating her means to land clear pictures when alternatives offered themselves.
Working beneath the steerage of coach Manny Robles in Los Angeles, Hiruta capitalized on Cardenas’ tendency to overextend on her assaults. The champion’s timing was significantly evident as she countered Cardenas’ ahead advances with precision strikes. Regardless of Cardenas coming into the bout with an undefeated 9-0 file, she was unable to compete for the title after weighing in at 115.8 kilos, 0.8 kilos over the championship restrict.
The Mexican challenger, who had come off an upset victory over beforehand unbeaten Bree Howling in June, confirmed her typical aggression however discovered restricted success towards Hiruta’s technical method. Cardenas by no means took a backward step all through the combat, sustaining strain in pursuit of an upset that may have given her a victory however not the championship belt resulting from her weight miss.
This victory marked Hiruta’s third combat on American soil in 2025, with all three going down in California. The champion has discovered success coaching in Los Angeles after feeling her profession had stagnated in Japan, the place she had solely competed six occasions in her first three skilled years. Her resolution to relocate and work with Robles has confirmed useful, as she has remained lively and improved her infighting capabilities.
The combat served because the co-main occasion on a 360 Promotions card that additionally featured Omar Trinidad’s majority draw towards Lorenzo Parra in the principle occasion. The UFC Combat Move broadcast showcased Hiruta’s continued evolution as each a boxer and performer, with the champion identified for incorporating Japanese popular culture parts into her ring entrances and sporting distinctive costumes. This time round she was sporting a Sailor Moon cosplay.
Hiruta’s dominant efficiency bolstered her place as one of many division’s premier fighters and marked one other profitable step in her acknowledged objective of changing into Japan’s greatest boxing star, just like how Shohei Ohtani has captured American baseball followers. The victory units up potential future matchups as she continues to chase undisputed championship standing within the junior bantamweight division.
With this fifth profitable title protection, Hiruta has now received 19 consecutive rounds throughout her final three fights, establishing herself because the fighter to beat within the 115-pound weight class. Her technical enhancements beneath Robles, mixed together with her pure boxing means and marketable character, place her properly for greater alternatives within the aggressive junior bantamweight panorama.
