Haraguchi Kento (原口健飛, born 9 April 1998) is a Japanese kickboxer and former boxer, currently competing in the super lightweight division of RISE.
[10] In between his two karate stints, Haraguchi fought as a professional boxer, but quit the sport after suffering his first loss in the semifinals of the 2016 West Japan Rookie of the Year tournament.
[14][15] He was previously ranked as a top ten super bantamweight (-64 kg) kickboxer by Combat Press between November 2020 and May 2022.
Haraguchi immediately pressured as the second round began, thoroughly dominating the champion and forcing him to take a knee three times, which awarded Hariguchi the technical knockdown.
Haraguchi fought mainly off the back-foot, slowly accumulating damage on his opponent, before knocking Cejas out with a jumping switch kick at the very end of the third round.
[32] Haraguchi was scheduled to fight the ISKA Spain K-1 and Muay Thai champion Miguel Martinez during the opening round of the 2019 RISE World Series.
The fight ended in the last minute of the first round, as Haraguchi knocked his opponent down with a lead right hook counter to Hideki's left straight.
[43] The RISE World Series tournament was later scrapped, as Collins and Nuenglanlek were unable to enter the country at the time, due to travel restrictions imposed in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.
[46] Haraguchi dominated the entirety of the bout, knocking Taiga down three times in less than three minutes, winning the fight by a technical knockout.
[48] In the semifinals bout, Haraguchi beat Renta Nishioka through a dominant unanimous decision, justifying his role as the favorite.
[50] During the post-fight interview, Haraguchi reiterated his desire to fight Taiju Shiratori, with RISE president Takashi Ito likewise stating that the Haraguchi-Shiratori bout was in their 2021 plans.
[53] Petpanomrung was unable to enter Japan, as the travel restrictions imposed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic were extended from February 7 to March 7.
[54] The two of them were previously scheduled to participate in the RISE WORLD SERIES 2020 –63 kg Tournament, which was to be held in spring of 2020, but was cancelled due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic.
They were also expected to fight in the final of the DEAD OR ALIVE 2020 –63 kg class tournament held on October 11, 2020, as they were both favorites in their semifinal bouts.
The second knockdown came as both fighters were turning to face each-other and Haraguchi landed a head kick from the orthodox stance.
Although RISE had other opponents in mind for Haraguchi, restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to rely on competitors currently present in Japan.
[59] On October 22, 2021, it was revealed by that Haraguchi would face the four-time defending Glory Featherweight Champion Petpanomrung Kiatmuu9 at RISE World Series 2021 Osaka 2 on November 14, 2021.
The pair was originally scheduled to face each other at RISE El Dorado on February 28, 2021, before the fight was eventually postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
[61] Haraguchi was unable to mount any consistent offense against the Thai, who in turn successfully landed a great volume of knees and kicks, although he was given a yellow card for illegal clinching in the second round.
[62] At a press conference held by RISE on February 18, 2022, it was announced that Haraguchi would next face the ISKA Muay thai world super lightweight champion Lompetch Y'zdgym.
[64] Haraguchi next faced the K-1 World GP 2016 -65kg Japan Tournament winner and one-time K-1 Super Lightweight champion Hideaki Yamazaki on June 19, 2022, on the undercard of The Match 2022.
[75] On November 24, it was announced that Zouggary had withdrawn from the fight with an undisclosed injury and would be replaced by the former Glory Featherweight champion Serhiy Adamchuk.
[77] Haraguchi faced Jérémy Monteiro for the vacant ISKA Light Welterweight (-65 kg) K-1 Rules World title at RISE EL DORADO 2023 on March 26, 2023.
[80] Haraguchi faced the two-time Glory Featherweight title challenger Anvar Boynazarov at RISE World Series 2023 - 1st Round on July 2, 2023.
[82] Haraguchi faced the one-time Glory Featherweight title challenger Abraham Vidales at RISE WORLD SERIES 2023 Final Round on December 16, 2023.
[86] Haraguchi faced Miguel Trindade in the quarterfinals of the GLORY RISE Featherweight Grand Prix, held on December 21, 2024, in Chiba, Japan.