Srisaket Sor Rungvisai continued his fall from grace on Sunday, losing a unanimous decision to Japanese upstart Kaito Yamasaki at Sumiyoshi Ward Center in Osaka.

The 38-year-old Sor Rungvisai, whose real name is Wisaksil Wangek, slid to a record of 58-7-1 (47 KOs) after losing by scores of 78-73 on two cards and 77-74 on the third to Yamasaki, now 10-1 (5 KOs), in a junior featherweight bout.

Facing an opponent who was visibly much larger, Sor Rungvisai was dropped by a left hook midway through the first round. Sor Rungvisai was game throughout, landing flurries which had little effect in his new weight class. Yamasaki was able to land more effectively with his straight rights and body shots, which visibly moved the more experienced fighter.

Sor Rungvisai had appeared to be en route to a Hall of Fame career when, in 2017, he scored two victories over pound-for-pound champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez to win the WBC junior bantamweight title. Sor Rungvisai elevated himself once more the following year when he defeated Juan Francisco Estrada by majority decision but lost the belt the following year in a rematch against Estrada, this time by unanimous decision. Sor Rungvisai’s descent continued through the COVID-19 pandemic due to inactivity, and an attempt to recapture his previous belt was thwarted when he was stopped in eight rounds by Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in June of 2022.

Since that loss, Sor Rungvisai had won eight straight before the loss to Yamasaki, a 26-year-old from Osaka.

With the victory, Yamasaki rebounds from his only previous loss, a ninth round stoppage defeat to Subaru Murata last October.