Mika Iwakawa
Professional career. Iwakawa made her professional debut on 19 December 2011, where she defeated Shoko Hayashida by knockout KO in a four-round bout at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. In December 2016, Iwakawa fought for the WBA female atomweight title, losing to Yunoka Furukawa. She claimed the WBO female atomweight title on 29 July 2018, after defeating Nao Ikeyama by a split decision. The final judges' scores were 96-94, 94-96, and 94-96. Iwakawa was scheduled to face the journeyman Momoko Kanda in a non-title bout on 7 December 2019, at the Art Center  in Kobe, Japan. Iwakawa fought the #1 ranked WBO flyweight to stay busy, as she had been out of the ring for 17 months, with her previous bout against Nao Ikeyama taking place on 29 July 2018. Iwakawa beat Kanda by unanimous decision, with all three judges awarding him a 78-74 scorecard. Iwakawa made her first WBO atomweight title defense against Nanae Suzuki on 26 September 2020, at the Central Gym in Kobe, Japan. Iwakawa maintained distance and scored points by landing one-twos, and was awarded a split decision. Two judges scored the fight 96-94 and 97 -93 for her, while the third judge scored it 97-93 for Suzuki. On 5 April 2021, Tadanori Yamashita, the chairman of her former gym Takasago Gym, was arrested and had his boxing license suspended. Following this, Iwakawa left and began training at the Himeji Kinoshita Gym.