He is a former WBA interim super welterweight champion who is best known for knocking out James Kirkland in a middleweight bout at the MGM Grand Las Vegas in April 2011.

[6][7][8] When Ishida was a high school freshman, he fought as an in-fighter in the flyweight division at 176 centimeters (5 feet 10 inches) tall.

Ishida lost the Japanese super welterweight title shot in his next fight on September 24 of that year by a ten-round majority decision.

In June and October, 2002, Ishida fought for the OPBF and interim Japanese title respectively in the same weight division, but lost two in a row.

[25] Ishida won the WBA super welterweight title eliminator over Venezuelan Marco Antonio Avendaño via a split decision at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium on September 22, 2008.

[26] Ishida won the interim WBA world super welterweight title over Avendaño via a wide margin unanimous decision in front of spectators including one hundred children and staff whom he invited from the orphanage where he had worked before his professional debut,[13][14] at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium on August 30, 2009.

Yet, on that day, the general election where the historical change of government occurred was made in Japan, so Ishida's fight was broadcast only on a pay TV channel, sky-A sports+.

[26] Ishida fought against Rigoberto Álvarez for the vacant WBA world super welterweight championship as his first expedition match in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico on October 9, 2010,[34] and lost there.

Instead of a reply, the WBA posted an article where they released the championship for the vacant regular title between Álvarez and Trout in December on their official website.

[45] Ishida moved up in weight division to knock out the previously undefeated James Kirkland whose record was 27–0 (24 KOs), flooring him three times in one minute and fifty-two seconds of the first round in an eight-round middleweight bout on the HBO pay-per-view televised undercard of Erik Morales vs. Marcos Maidana at the MGM Grand Las Vegas on April 9, 2011,[Video 1][Video 2] in less than a month after the Tōhoku earthquake.

[50] During the short preparation time, Ishida trained in Las Vegas and California, including sparring with big boxers such as Peter Quillin.

[57] Ishida was once scheduled to fight Paul Williams at a maximum weight of 155 pounds on July 9, 2011, at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

[42] Despite the efforts of Eric Gomez, the vice president and matchmaker of Golden Boy Promotions, Ishida's opponent was quite undecided.

[65] Ishida won by a technical knockout in the first round against late substitute opponent Edson Espinoza on the undercard of Canelo Álvarez vs. Kermit Cintrón on November 26, 2011.

Ishida fought against Paul Williams in a twelve-round super welterweight bout held as the main event on Showtime Championship Boxing at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, on February 18, 2012.

[Video 4] For that fight, he sparred with Hugo Centeno, Jr., Ray Rivera and others, in Maywood, Bell, Carson and East Los Angeles, California.

Williams' bodywork skills and holding tactics[67] did not allow Ishida to throw accurate punches,[68] compared with the five fights against Kirkland, Álvarez, Valdéz and Avendaño twice.

[69] Ishida's single shots and not many combinations,[67] although they were sometimes shorter and sharper[70] than those of his opponent as were his characteristic ways[5] and made Williams' face swollen,[71] were not enough to make up for the lack of power and physical strength which has often been pointed out.

Subsequently, Ishida lost to Dmitry Pirog via a unanimous decision in the WBO middleweight title bout at the Sport Complex Krylatskoe in Moscow, Russia on May 1 of that year.

[81] Ishida fought for the WBA and IBO middleweight titles against Gennady Golovkin at the Salle des Étoiles in Monte Carlo, Monaco on March 30, 2013.