Rather than retiring, Daigo Higa lobbies for Yoshiki Takei title rematch

Daigo Higa had considered hanging up his gloves after his close September loss to WBO bantamweight titleholder Yoshiki Takei. But Higa has decided to keep fighting – and wants a rematch with Takei.

That’s why a member of Higa’s team asked for the 29-year-old from Tokyo to be ranked higher at 118 pounds during a Thursday meeting of the WBO’s ratings committee at the sanctioning body’s convention in Puerto Rico.

Higa, 21-3-1 (19 KOs), had been rated No. 1 before the loss and now sits at No. 3. The scores were 115-112 and 114-113 (twice).

“It was a great match that was very, very close and highly intense. Many boxing professionals viewing this match highly praised it. Most of them said that this match will likely be selected as Japan’s match of the year,” said Higa’s representative. “As you can see from the match, Higa is evenly matched with the champion. Now he’s currently ranked No. 3, but we would like the rating committee to consider ranking Higa higher so that he can challenge for the title again soon.”

Newly elected WBO president Gustavo Olivieri erroneously responded that Takei vs. Higa was a fight for a vacant belt between the No. 1 and No. 2 rated fighters – and that Takei now has to face another mandatory contender within 180 days.

In reality, Takei, 10-0 (8 KOs), won the title in May 2024, taking it from Jason Moloney via unanimous decision. As the No. 1 contender, Higa would have already been Takei’s mandatory. That means that Takei is now in a voluntary phase and could reasonably face Higa again no matter his placement in the sanctioning body’s top 15.

Unfortunately for Higa, Takei already has a voluntary defense scheduled for December 24 on the undercard of Naoya Inoue vs. Sam Goodman. BoxRec currently lists Takei’s opponent as Yuttapong Tongdee, 15-0 (9 KOs), whom the WBO has ranked at No. 10.

“Your guy is No. 3. Let’s see what happens, because we cannot order a rematch based on the official scores, which are presumed correct,” Olivieri said to Higa’s representative. “It was a close fight, but the rules of the WBO Championship Committee only order a rematch in special circumstances. I have to consult with the committee. Your petition is duly acknowledged. But your guy is No. 3. He’s there. But based on the result, it was a close fight but not controversial. Based on the scores only, we cannot order an immediate rematch. But keep active, fight for another title […] and we’ll try to give him another opportunity in the near future.”

It’s possible that Higa will need to wait in line even longer. The WBO currently has David Cuellar, 28-0 (18 KOs), at No. 1 and Christian Medina, 23-4 (16 KOs), at No. 2.

Cuellar has had one fight this year at bantamweight in January and one at junior featherweight in May. Medina hasn’t fought at bantamweight since August 2023, when he lost a decision to Ryosuke Nishida. Both of Medina’s appearances this year have been in the 122lbs weight class, victories over foes with records of 19-26-2 and 7-7-2.

Higa was previously a flyweight titleholder, capturing the vacant WBC belt with a TKO of Juan Hernandez Navarrete in May 2017. He made two successful defenses, then came in overweight for an April 2018 fight with Cristofer Rosales, who went on to dispatch Higa in the ninth round. Higa subsequently moved up to the 118lbs division. He suffered his second defeat in 2021, outpointed by Nishida, who won the IBF world title earlier this year. Higa’s third loss, to Takei, ended a four-fight win streak.

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod. He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.