From World Champion to Juraku Regular: Meet Miyo Yoshida

If you've been to Juraku over the past couple of years, there's a good chance you've seen Miyo Yoshida sitting at one of our tables.

Sometimes she's celebrating after a fight. Sometimes she's catching up with friends over dinner. Sometimes she's simply enjoying a quiet meal after training.

To us, she's just Miyo. A regular. A great friend.

To the rest of the world, she's one of Japan's most accomplished professional boxers.

We're incredibly proud to call her part of the Juraku family, and even more excited to be one of her sponsors as she continues chasing world titles.

A Champion From Kagoshima

Miyo Yoshida was born in Kagoshima, Japan, and her journey into combat sports didn't begin the way most people would expect.

She didn't grow up boxing. In fact, she first entered the world of martial arts in her twenties before competing in kickboxing and mixed martial arts. Eventually she found her true calling in boxing, making her professional debut in 2014.

Since then, she's built one of the most impressive careers in Japanese women's boxing. Some of her accomplishments include:

• Two-time WBO Women's Junior Bantamweight World Champion
• Former IBF Women's Bantamweight World Champion
• Former Japanese Women's Bantamweight Champion
• Former OPBF Women's Bantamweight Champion

Over the years, Miyo has fought some of the best boxers in the world while earning a reputation as an incredibly technical, determined, and resilient competitor.

Bringing Her Career to New York

A few years ago, Miyo made the difficult decision to move her career to the United States.

Today she trains in New York, working out of the legendary Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn, one of the most famous boxing gyms in the world and home to countless champions throughout boxing history.

Training at that level takes incredible discipline. Every workout matters. Every meal matters. Every day is another step toward the next fight.

More Than a Champion

The funny thing is, if you met Miyo at Juraku before knowing who she was, you probably wouldn't realize she was a world champion.

She's humble. Kind. Easy to talk to. Always smiling.

Over time she became a regular, then a friend, and now someone we're always excited to cheer on whenever she steps into the ring.

That's one of our favorite things about Juraku. On any given night you might be sharing the room with chefs, artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, or even a world champion athlete. Everyone gets treated the same. Everyone is welcome.

Why We Sponsor Miyo

People sometimes ask why Juraku sponsors athletes and local creatives.

The answer is actually pretty simple. We don't sponsor people because they're famous. We sponsor people we believe in.

Miyo represents so many of the values we've tried to build Juraku around since we opened in 2018: hard work, humility, perseverance, community. She's someone who continues to push herself every single day while remaining incredibly grounded, and that's something we deeply respect.

Being one of her sponsors isn't about advertising. It's about supporting a friend.

From All of Us at Juraku

One of the best parts about running a neighborhood restaurant is the people you meet along the way. Sometimes guests become regulars. Sometimes regulars become friends.

We're incredibly proud of everything Miyo has accomplished, and we're honored to be a small part of her journey.

More of the people we work with.