Four-division champion Kosei Tanaka retires at 29 due to eye injuries

Kosei Tanaka is hanging up the gloves after severe eye issues worsened in his loss to Phumelela Cafu

Sad news out of Japan today, as four-division champion Kosei Tanaka announced his premature retirement at 29 due to chronic eye issues.

Tanaka earned his first world title in just his fifth pro fight with a decision over Julian Yedras for the WBO minimumweight belt, and after stopping Vic Saludar in his inaugural defense, knocked out Moises Fuentes for the light flyweight title two bouts later. Successful defenses against then-unbeaten Angel Acosta and Palangpol CP Freshmart paved the way for a move to 112, where he truly made his name.

A five-fight stint at flyweight saw him follow his debut win over Ronnie Baldonado by overpowering Sho Kimura for the belt in one of 2018’s Fights of the Year, beat former titlist Ryoichi Taguchi in similarly exciting fashion, come from behind to stop Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez, and thrash Chinese challenger Wulan Tuolehazi.

That done, he invoked his WBO champion’s right to move up to 115 and immediately challenge Kazuto Ioka, who handed him his first defeat with a gnarly eighth-round stoppage.

Undaunted, Tanaka worked his way back up the ladder, ultimately claiming Ioka’s former belt by beating Christian Bacasegua to become boxing’s fastest four-division titlist. What looked to be a routine title defense against Pumelela Cafu followed, but as Tanaka explains, that’s when things went wrong.

Translated from his native Japanese into English, Tanaka’s message on Instagram read: “11 years of professional life. Thank you so much for all your support over the years. The reason is all about my repeated eye injuries. The last defence match took place on 14 October (2024). The condition of both eyes was bad before the fight and I decided to have surgery on both eyes immediately after the fight.”

He added: “However, immediately after the start of the match, I lost sight in my right eye and by the third round, all the light had completely disappeared. With my left eye also in a bad state, I finished the match and underwent surgery on both eyes.”

He continued: “My vision was restored, but even now my right eye’s vision is still heavily distorted and I can no longer focus with both eyes. Due to the effects of hernia operations on my neck and many, many operations on my eyes alone in the four years from 2021, my eyes have become weak, and I can no longer spar, let alone compete.”

It’s worth noting that Tanaka still took Cafu to a razor-thin split decision despite virtually nonexistent vision, which is a testament to his skills. He ends his career 19-2 (11 KO), packing more into that brief span than most fighters could dream of.

Tanaka pulled off multiple historic achievements and gave us some truly phenomenal bangers. Sad to see him go, but he’s got a ton to be proud of. Happy trails, champ.