23-year-old Japanese boxer Kazuki Anaguchi tragically passes away after getting injured during recent fight

Japanese boxer Kazuki Anaguchi passed away on Friday after succumbing to injuries he suffered during his fight against Seiya Tsutsumi on Dec. 26 in Tokyo. The 23-year-old was knocked down four times during the ten-round bantamweight fight and ultimately lost via unanimous decision.

The Anaguchi-Tsutsumi bout served as the co-main event to the Naoya Inoue vs. Marlon Tapales undisputed junior featherweight title fight. Anaguchi performed impressively well and outscored his opponent in multiple rounds. However, he was dropped in rounds four, seven, nine, and ten, which ultimately led to Tsutsumi winning the contest with a 95-91, 94-92, and 94-92 score.

Per Boxing Scene, Anaguchi was admitted to a hospital after the fight for emergency surgery due to losing consciousness unexpectedly. He had been diagnosed with subdural hematoma.

Despite doctors performing an emergency craniotomy to remove the hematoma on the right side of his brain, Anaguchi never regained consciousness.

Anaguchi was widely considered a boxing talent to watch out for and was based in Osaka. Per reports, he was just six years old when he put on the gloves for the first time and went 68-8 as an amateur boxer. Due to not qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he took a year-long break and decided to turn professional in July 2021.

---

Fans offer condolences after Kazuki Anaguchi passes away following Seiya Tsutsumi fight

Kazuki Anaguchi passed away after suffering fatal injuries during his undisputed junior featherweight title bout against Seiya Tsutsumi on Dec. 26 in Tokyo. His unexpected death sent shockwaves across the combat sports community, and many mourned the loss of the mercurial boxer.

Veteran journalist Michael Benson recently took to X to confirm the news and wrote:

"Japanese boxer Kazuki Anaguchi has died in hospital aged 23 after suffering a brain injury in his defeat to Seiya Tsutsumi on the Naoya Inoue vs Marlon Tapales undercard on Dec. 26th."

Fans soon flocked to the post's comments section to express their sympathies and mourn Anaguchi's death.

One fan wrote:

"This is incredibly sad, prayers for his family. I often forget that the sport I enjoy the most is the most dangerous."

Another fan wrote:

"They let those smaller guys take way too much punishment."

One user wrote:

"They WALKED him out of the arena too when he was all over the place. Terrible. RIP, champ."

Check out some more reactions below:

Screenshots from @MichaelBensonn on X