is a Japanese professional boxer who held the OPBF bantamweight title four times.

Professional career Early career Kurihara debuted on 6 April 2011 in the flyweight division against Yoshiyuki Shimizu at the famous Korakuen Hall, Kurihara stopped his opponent with four seconds left in the first round, after the successful debut, Kurihara headed to a rocky path achieving a record of 3–4 before having his redemption with a six winning streak.

After earning himself a streak he faced Hiroaki Teshigawara on 19 June 2017 in Tokyo, Japan to mark Kurihara's sixth bantamweight bout, where Kurihara's winning streak was broken with a fifth round TKO. On 1 December 2017, Kurihara had an impressive comeback fight against undefeated Filipino Ryan Lumacad with a second-round knockout statement.

Kurihara vs. Kobayashi After composing a record 12–5, Kurihara faced compatriot regional contender Yuki Strong Kobayashi on 24 December 2018 in Sumiyoshi Ward Center, Osaka, Japan for the vacant OPBF bantamweight championship, Kurihara prevailed with a tight 113–111 unanimous decision victory.

Kurihara vs. Parrenas On 10 May 2019, Cadiz City-native one-time world title challenger Warlito Parrenas challenged Kurihara on his first defence of the OPBF belt, Kurihara earned himself an impressive first-round knockout, lasting only 35 seconds.

Kurihara vs. Inoue After 425 days of inactivity, certainly due to the Corona virus pandemic, On 14 January 2021, Kurihara was set to make his second defence of the OPBF title against world-title challenger Takuma Inoue in Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan, Kurihara conceived his first loss in nearly four years after Inoue dominated him with a ninth-round unanimous technical decision after Kurihara sustained a cut from clashing of heads.

Kurihara vs. Nakajima On 19 October 2021, Kurihara earned a chance to recapture the OPBF belt against the new reigning champion Kazuki Nakajima, Kurihara stopped the previously unbeaten Nakajima in three rounds.

Kurihara vs. Oguni In March 2022, it was announced that Kurihara was set to face former IBF super bantamweight champion Yukinori Oguni in a non-titled ten rounds bout on 20 May 2022, in the fourth round of their match, the referee halted the bout due to a severe cut on Oguni's right eyebrow caused by an accidental headbutt, due to a rule in boxing, despite Oguni leading 30–27 twice and 29–28 in the scorecards, the bout was declared a draw.

Kurihara vs. Chiba I On 22 September 2022 in Korakuen Hall, Kurihara defended his OPBF title against compatriot Kai Chiba, Kurihara conceded his seventh career loss after he was stopped in the 0:50 mark of the very last round.

Kurihara vs. Chiba II On 4 March 2023 in the same venue, Kurihara aimed for revenge in wants to reclaim the OPBF title against Kai Chiba, Kurihara succeeded in reacquiring the OPBF gold after he stopped Chiba within two rounds.

Kurihara vs. Saludar I On 12 October 2023 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Kurihara faced former world-title challenger Froilan Saludar who moved down weight for their match in Kurihara's first defence of the reacquired OPBF bantamweight strap, despite Kurihara being expected to be the winner, Saludar shocked Kurihara in his home turf as Saludar knocked Kurihara twice before stopping him in the one minute mark of the first round.

Kurihara vs. Saludar II On 26 January 2024, after three months since their first match, Kurihara and Saludar fought in a rematch to serve as the co-main card of the "Kumbati 16" event, whilst the OPBF, vacant IBF Pan Pacific and IBF Asia bantamweight crowns were on the line, this also marked as Kurihara's first bout outside of Japan, to fight in Cebu City, Philippines, Kurihara avenged his loss and reclaimed the OPBF title whilst also winning the vacant IBF Pan Pacific and Asia bantamweight crowns after Kurihara gave Saludar a hard-fought battle and a knockdown in the fourth round en route to an eight-round knockout victory.

Kurihara vs. Portes On 22 July 2024, Kurihara fought against Filipino journeyman Renan Portes in a hard-fought eight-rounder bout whereas Kurihara won via a controversial split decision, Kurihara later disregarded his victory and felt regretful, Kurihara later apologized to his Filipino opponent and stated to the crowd: "I didn't win this fight" and "I was declared the winner, but I believe I lost."

Kurihara vs. Llover On 24 March 2025, Kurihara fought the reigning OPBF interim champion, hard-hitting Filipino prospect Kenneth Llover in Korakuen Hall for Kurihara's OPBF absolute title, Kurihara suffered a stunning first-round stoppage loss after the referee put the bout to halt due to barrage of punches that hurt Kurihara.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes31Win21–9–1Shori UmezuTKO6 (10), 6 Jun 202630Win20–9–1Shunpei KaneshiroKO5 (8), 17 Sep 202529Loss19–9–1Kenneth LloverTKO1 (12), 24 Mar 202528Win19–8–1Renan PortesSD822 Jul 202427Win18–8–1Froilan SaludarKO8 (12), 26 Jan 202426Loss17–8–1Froilan SaludarTKO1 (12), 12 Oct 202325Win17–7–1Kai ChibaTKO2 (12), 4 Mar 202324Loss16–7–1Kai ChibaTKO12 (12), 22 Sep 202223DrawYukinori OguniTD4 (10), 20 May 202222Win16–6Kazuki NakajimaTKO3 (12), 19 Oct 202121Loss15–6Takuma InoueTD9 (12), 14 Jan 202120Win15–5Sukkasem KietyongyuthTKO2 (8), 15 Nov 201919Win14–5Warlito ParrenasKO1 (12), 10 May 201918Win13–5Yuki Strong KobayashiUD1224 Dec 201817Win12–5Kazuki TanakaTKO3 (8), 1 Aug 201816Win11–5Tetsuya WatanabeTKO1 (8), 11 May 201815Win10–5Ryan LumacadKO2 (8), 1 Dec 201714Loss9–5Hiroaki TeshigawaraTKO5 (8), 19 Jun 201713Win9–4Engelbert MoraldeTKO1 (8), 10 Mar 201712Win8–4Sonin NiheiTKO3 (8), 12 Dec 201611Win7–4Jun KosekiTKO5 (8), 13 Sep 201610Win6–4Yuito YamaguchiTKO4 (6), 13 Jun 20169Win5–4Hirofumi TachibanaTKO4 (6), 3 Mar 20158Win4–4Satoru MorishitaUD417 Nov 20147Loss3–4Hiroyasu ShigaTKO1 (4), 7 Jul 20146Loss3–3Shoji EbisawaUD47 Mar 20145Win3–2Takuma OkadaKO3 (4), 21 Nov 20124Loss2–2Takahiro FujiiTKO4 (4), 13 Jul 20123Loss2–1Koya SatoUD430 Jan 20122Win2–0Yohei SuzukiTKO4 (4), 31 Oct 20111Win1–0Yoshiyuki ShimizuTKO1 (4), 6 Apr 2011

References

External links