FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: MIZUKI HIRUTA
“I am so happy and relieved with this win,” Hiruta told Miyata afterward. “I was worried about [fighting Merino], maybe a little afraid of her. Even my team was nervous. I expected a tough and tactical fight, and we prepared for everything. Now I keep going forward. “I will keep The Ring belt forever. I’ll never let anybody snatch this from me.” Two defenses followed: a lopsided unanimous decision over unbeaten Naomy Cardenas in August and a shutout against former title challenger Gloria Gallardo in November. Hiruta was the most active female champion in 2025, giving her the edge over future Hall of Famers Katie Taylor and Mikaela Mayer, unified Ring champ Ellie Scotney and unified beltholder Evelin Bermudez for The Ring’s Fighter of the Year award. Robles is proud of Hiruta, but he knows better performances for bigger prizes lie ahead – in part because his pupil wants more from herself. “She’s got a chip on her shoulder,” he said. “She’s not satisfied. She wants to knock her opponents out. She was disappointed that she didn’t get the KO against Gallardo. She wants to please the fans. She understands she has to
Hiruta won The Ring’s 115-pound title by outpointing Carla Merino.
“It was a unique situation with Hiruta. She was already a world champ when Manny told me about her, but she only had five fights at the time. And she was not on my radar because she had only fought in Japan. I had been involved in the careers of other female fighters in the past – Laila Ali, Lucia Rijker and later Braekhus, but they were in the heavier weight classes. I trusted Manny’s recommendation, but I needed to do some research and come up with a strategy.” In the meantime, Hiruta focused on getting her work visa while using her visitor visa to continue traveling to Robles’ gym for training camps. Loeffler would make up his mind the moment he met Hiruta in person.
“The timing couldn’t be better,” recalled Robles. “She was training with me while I was getting [junior middleweight contender] Serhii [Bohachuk] ready for Brian Mendoza [in March 2024]. I took her with me and Team Bohachuk to Las Vegas because it was the perfect opportunity for me to make the introduction to Tom, who promotes Serhii. They met at the fight-week press conference, and as soon as Tom and his crew saw her in person, their eyes lit up. They loved her personality, her energy and fashion sense. She made a great first impression.” Loeffler signed Hiruta, 6-0 at the time, and made plans for a busy 2025. Her U.S. debut was originally set to be her WBO mandatory challenger, Carla
Merino, in the first quarter of the year. However, given that her last bout – the first-round blowout of Park – had been in January 2024, Loeffler lobbied the WBO to allow for a rust-shaking tune-up bout against journeywoman Maribel Ramirez. Hiruta dropped the well-traveled Mexican veteran in the second round en route to an eight-round technical decision after the fight was stopped due to a cut Ramirez suffered from an accidental headbutt. The bout took place at the Commerce Casino
in January, in front of a raucous Mexican-American crowd – there to support East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad, who was in the main event – but she captivated the audience. Four months later, Hiruta returned to Commerce to take on Merino, The Ring’s No. 2-rated junior bantamweight at the time. She outclassed the respected Argentine
contender over 10 rounds, showcasing everything that made her The Ring’s No. 1-rated junior bantamweight – steely focus, hand and foot speed, balance, feints, timing, distance control, accurate combinations and block-and-counterpunching technique. The unanimous decision victory made Hiruta the first Ring Magazine 115-pound champion from Japan.
entertain to become a bigger name.” Hiruta will earn attention the old- fashioned way, and whatever currency comes from it will be reinvested into the sport. “She wants to stay busy,” said Robles. She’s a true champion. She wants the best, wants to unify, wants to go up in weight and challenge the champions there.”
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