is a Japanese professional boxer who held the WBC flyweight title from 2017 to 2018. He also challenged for the WBO bantamweight title title in 2024 and for the WBA bantamweight title twice in 2025.

Amateur career

Higa turned pro at the age of 18, after a brief amateur career where he accrued a 36–8 record.

Professional career Higa's manager is Boxing Hall of Fame member Yoko Gushiken. Higa made his professional debut in June 2014, defeating Saengkeng Saknarong by technical knockout less than a minute into the first round. He won his first title by stopping previously undefeated Thai fighter Kongfah CP Freshmart in 7 rounds to claim the WBC Youth flyweight title. He went on to defend that title twice before claiming the OPBF flyweight belt against Filipino gatekeeper Ardin Diale. Higa broke down and battered Diale with body shots, eventually stopping him in round 4.

Higa vs. Hernandez On 2017, Higa won a world championship in his first try, defeating Juan Hernández by technical knockout to become the WBC flyweight title. Hernández had won the title earlier that year against Nawaphon Por Chokchai and was scheduled to make his first defense against Higa. However, he lost his belt at the scales due to coming in over the weight limit. Higa dominated Hernández, dropping him five times over the course over the fight before the referee finally stopped the contest. With the win, Higa became Okinawa's first boxing world champion since Akinobu Hiranaka.

After becoming a world champion, Higa said his goals were facing WBA champion Kazuto Ioka in a flyweight unification bout and breaking Japan's record of 15 consecutive knockouts.

Higa vs. Rosales On 15 April 2018, Higa defended his WBC flyweight title for the third time in a row against challenger Cristofer Rosales. Higa lost the fight and his belt via TKO in the ninth round.

Higa vs. Tsutsumi On 26 October 2020, Higa fought Seiya Tsutsumi. 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.

Higa vs. Kobayashi On 31 December 2020, Higa fought Yuki Kobayashi, who was ranked #9 by the IBF and #14 by the WBO at bantamweight. Higa won via a fifth-round knockout.

Higa vs. Tsutsumi Higa was scheduled to challenge Seiya Tsutsumi for his WBA bantamweight title at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on February 24, 2025. The fight ended in a draw with all three judges scoring it 114–114.

Higa vs. Vargas Higa fought Antonio Vargas on July 30, 2025 in Yokahama, Japan. The fight ended in a draw, with all three judges scoring the fight 113-113. Higa announced his retirement from boxing the following day.

Higa vs. Masuda Higa faced Riku Masuda for the vacant WBA (Regular) bantamweight title at Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on 20 July 2026, via split decision.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes28LossRiku MasudaSD1220 Jul 202627Draw21–3–3Antonio VargasUD1230 Jul 202526Draw21–3–2Seiya Tsutsumi1224 Feb 202525Loss21–3–1Yoshiki TakeiUD123 Sep 202424Win21–2–1Nawaphon KaikanhaKO4 (10), 31 Dec 202323Win20–2–1Yodmongkol CP FreshmartKO4 (10), 24 Jun 202322Win19–2–1Songsaeng Phoyaem UD1015 Nov 202221Win18–2–1Froilan SaludarSD813 Jul 202220Loss17–2–1Ryosuke Nishida1224 Apr 202119Win17–1–1Yuki Strong KobayashiTKO5 (12), 31 Dec 202018Draw16–1–1Seiya Tsutsumi1026 Oct 202017Win16–1Jason BuenaobraTKO6 (8), 13 Feb 202016Loss15–1Cristofer RosalesTKO9 (12), 15 Apr 201815Win15–0Moisés FuentesKO1 (12), 4 Feb 201814Win14–0Thomas MassonTKO7 (12), 22 Oct 201713Win13–0Juan HernándezTKO6 (12), 20 May 201712Win12–0Diomel DiocosTKO4 (10), 4 Feb 201711Win11–0Felipe Cagubcob Jr.KO4 (12), 5 Nov 201610Win10–0Ardin DialeKO4 (12), 2 Jul 20169Win9–0Romel OliverosKO2 (10), 5 Apr 20168Win8–0Renren TesorioTKO10 (10), 7 Nov 20157Win7–0Kongfah CP FreshmartKO7 (10), 24 Jul 20156Win6–0Cris AlfanteKO4 (6), 8 Jun 20155Win5–0Virden Rivera2 (6), 10 May 20154Win4–0Pongpayu ChaiyonggymTKO2 (6), 12 Jan 20153Win3–0Keisuke FujjiTKO1 (4), 26 Nov 20142Win2–0Rotthang Wor Por SrisaketTKO2 (4), 22 Aug 20141Win1–0Saengkeng Saknarong1 (4), 17 Jun 2014

Exhibition boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes10–0 Naoya Inoue311 Feb 2021

See also Boxing in Japan List of Japanese boxing world champions List of world flyweight boxing champions

References

External links

Daigo Higa - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live