Yoshiki Takei, the undefeated WBO Bantamweight Champion from Japan, is set to make his first title defense on Tuesday, September 3rd, against his compatriot, Daigo Higa. This all-Japanese showdown promises to be an entertaining affair, but what’s the financial stake here? Discover the details in our Takei vs Higa purse preview.
Takei vs Higa Purse: Big Payday in Japan?
A solid reference point for estimating the Takei vs Higa purse is the main card bout between Naoya Inoue and TJ Doheny, which offers a substantial payout. This suggests that a significant amount of money will likely be on the line in this fight as well.
Takei earned $700,000 in his last fight, which also earned him the WBO Bantamweight belt. Now that he is a divisional champion, the former kickboxer can expect a fatter paycheck. With that in mind, Takei’s share of the Takei vs Higa prize money should be a seven figure sum. We expect him to bag $1 million for this fight.
As per boxing fighter pay traditions, Higa will accept a lower remuneration. The Takei vs Higa payouts split for the challenger should be in the range of $400,000-$500,000.
Boxing Fighter Payouts – Takei vs Higa
Takei has quickly made a name for himself in boxing since his debut in 2021. The 28-year-old southpaw boasts a stellar 9-0 professional record with no less than eight knockouts. His title winning fight against Maloney was the first time he failed to knock out an opponent in his professional career to date.
Prior to his boxing career, Takei dominated the world of kickboxing, holding the K-1 Super Bantamweight Championship from 2017 to 2020 and winning the Grand Prix title in both 2017 and 2019.
After dropping the curtain on his successful kickboxing career in late 2020, Takei seamlessly transitioned to boxing. He captured the Oriental and Pacific Super Bantamweight title in his fifth fight with a dominant fifth-round knockout victory over Pete Apolinar in August 2022.
Higa has also achieved significant success since becoming a professional. He has won both the vacant WBC Youth World Flyweight Title and the Oriental and Pacific Flyweight Belt. Higa’s career reached a major milestone in 2017 when he defeated Juan Hernandez Navarrete in a sixth-round knockout to claim the world title.
Notably, the title was on the line for Higa only as Navarrete arrived for the fight overweight. Higa’s dominance continued as he successfully defended his title against Thomas Masson in the seventh round and Moises Fuentes in the first round.
Higa’s undefeated streak came to an end in 2018 when he faced Cristofer Rosales, losing his title in a ninth-round knockout. Interestingly, Higa was the one who came in overweight for this fight, resulting in the title being on the line for Rosales only.
Despite this setback, Higa continued to pursue his boxing ambitions. In 2020, he reclaimed a title by defeating Yuki Strong Kobayashi in the fifth round to capture the WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight Belt. However, his reign was short-lived as he lost the belt in his first defense against Ryosuke in April 2021.
Bren Gray is our resident Kiwi, and has been writing about sports since he could first string words together. He first fell in love with boxing when David Tua took on Lennox Lewis in 2000, and hasn't looked back since.
