Ricardo Malajika Edges Tomoya Tsuboi in Tokyo to Win Vacant WBC Super-Flyweight Title

South Africa's Ricardo "Magic Man" Malajika went to Tokyo as the visitor and came home as a world champion. On 27 September 2026 at Toyota Arena Tokyo, he edged the unbeaten Japanese prospect Tomoya Tsuboi on a split decision to take the vacant WBC super-flyweight title.

A Vacant Belt on Inoue-Nasukawa Night

The green belt at 115 pounds was open because Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez, its previous holder, had moved up to bantamweight, according to Eyewitness News. The WBC paired Malajika with Tsuboi to fill the gap, and the bout was placed on the same Tokyo card as the Takuma Inoue against Tenshin Nasukawa bantamweight rematch, which Inoue won on the scorecards after getting up from a seventh-round knockdown.

For Tsuboi, the fight was a big step taken early. His amateur pedigree is serious: he won gold at the 2021 AIBA World Championships and added bronze medals at the 2022 Asian Games and the 2022 Asian Championships. But as a professional he was only on his fifth outing, carrying three wins and one no-contest into the ring, according to his Wikipedia record.

Malajika arrived with far more professional rounds behind him. Born in Johannesburg on 28 August 1998, he turned professional in October 2018 at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park and stopped Nkululeko Mnisi in the opening round of his debut. His record also contained two defeats, to Sabelo Ngebinyana in March 2021 and Sikho Nqothole in April 2022, and he rebuilt after both. He won the IBO super-flyweight title against Kevin Luis Munoz in September 2023, and South African outlet SNL24 reports that he defended that belt six times before travelling to Japan.

Height, Reach and a Late Push in Tokyo

Fighting in front of a home crowd, Tsuboi set the pace and kept walking forward. According to the Eyewitness News report, Malajika used his height, reach and hand speed to meet those advances with counters, moving his feet and waiting for clean openings rather than trading for the sake of it. The same report says he lifted his output clearly in the championship rounds, and that closing burst gave him the edge in a fight that had stayed close.

The judges split. Two had Malajika in front, at 116-112 and 115-113, while the third scored it 115-113 for Tsuboi. Wikipedia, Eyewitness News and SNL24 all give the same three cards. The result took Malajika to 18 wins, 12 of them inside the distance, against two losses, and handed Tsuboi his first professional defeat.

A Corner With History

There was an anniversary in Malajika's corner. SNL24 notes that Brian Mitchell, the former South African world champion, worked his corner, and that the win landed exactly 40 years after Mitchell won his own world title on 27 September 1986.

The same outlet reports that Malajika is the sixth South African to hold a WBC world title, and that his belt was the third world title brought back to the country within a short stretch. Eyewitness News called the win the standout result for South African boxing on the night.

Homecoming at OR Tambo

Malajika landed at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday, 29 September, where family, friends, fellow boxers, fans and reporters were waiting. Speaking to SNL24, he said the result had not settled in yet: "It still feels unreal." Ayanda Zamantungwa Khumalo, chairwoman of Boxing South Africa, publicly thanked him for what he had done for South African boxing and for his team.

What Comes Next

None of the sources consulted name a first defence or a mandatory challenger yet. Rodriguez set a high standard during his time with the belt, so comparisons will come quickly. Tsuboi lost a split decision on home soil in only his fifth professional fight, and his amateur résumé suggests he will be back in title contention. For now, the "Magic Man" holds the WBC belt, along with the IBO title he already owned.

Sources

• Ricardo Malajika conquers Tokyo to become new WBC super flyweight champion, Eyewitness News (EWN), 28 September 2026
• Magic Man brings world title home!, SNL24, 1 October 2026
• Ricardo Malajika, Wikipedia, accessed 2 October 2026
• Tomoya Tsuboi, Wikipedia, accessed 2 October 2026