[1] Wake was scouted early by Koguchi, who spotted his talent and persuaded him to move to Tokyo and pursue a boxing career.

Wake made his professional debut in October 2006, defeating his opponent by KO in the first round.

He then continued his way up the professional circuit to eventually land his first title shot, against undefeated champion, Yukinori Oguni, in March 2013.

The contest with Lee was made noteworthy by the fact Wake sent the Korean fighter out of the ring before stopping him in the following round, the 10th.

Wake challenged Jonathan Guzman for the IBF super bantam weight title in July 2016 but lost by TKO in the 9th round.