????! The History of Boxing in Japan
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8 years, 10 months ago
The noble art. The sweet science. Fisticuffs. Boxing is called by many different names. But what it boils down to in the end is two men stepping into a ring and putting it all on the line.
Though boxing is usually thought of as a sport of the west, it has a rich history in Japan as well. From exhibition fights in the Meiji Era to current world champs, boxing has had a powerful role in Japanese culture.
The History of Boxing in Japan Begins
Boxing first came to Japan with the Americans. More specifically, when Commodore Matthew Perry came over to Japan in 1854 for the Convention of Kanagawa. The American sailors boxed onboard their ships to help pass the time. Far from the padded gloves and wrapped gauze of today, boxing back then consisted of two men wrapping their fists in thin strips of leather. There was no real referee, and matches were more like glorified sparring.
Yet these spectacles were the first examples of boxing the Japanese had ever seen. The Sh?gun ordered an ?zeki-ranked sumo wrestler named Tsunekichi Koyanagi to fight an exhibition match against an American wrestler and boxer. No official documentation exists for the match, but Koyanagi reportedly defeated the Americans. This was Japans first taste of boxing, but it didnt really take off until years later.
In 1921, Y?jir? Watanabe opened The Japan Kent? Club after training in San Francisco for several years. At this point, boxing wasnt known in Japan as boxing (?????). It was called kent? (??), which translates to fist-fighting. Watanabe later became known as the Father of Japanese Boxing. He helped raise some of Japans first professional boxers (though there was no real line distinguishing amateur and professional fighters at the time).
In the 1928 Summer Olympics, Japan sent Fuji Okamoto to fight in the Lightweight division and Kintar? Usuda to fight in Welterweight. They were the first Japanese athletes to compete in Olympic boxing.
But the blurred line between professional and amateur boxing was still an issue, particularly in regards to establishing champions. In 1931, the All-Japan Professional Kent? Association was founded to bring more legitimacy to the title of champion. It also attempted to establish a true sense of professional boxing distinct from amateur. It was around this time that Tsuneo Piston Horiguchi began his rise to fame.
Horiguchi started out at Watanabes gym when he was 19, and quickly became a force to be reckoned with. He earned his nickname Piston from his unique style of throwing quick alternating straight punches. On May 23rd, 1933, in a stunning upset, Horiguchi defeated the Japanese featherweight champion Kaneo Nakamura by TKO in the second round and seized the title. But in 1935, the Japan Kent? Club was dropped from the Japan Boxing Federation due to political differences, which stripped Horiguchi of his title.
Japanese boxing took its biggest hit from WWII. Able-bodied young men were conscripted into the Japanese army. This meant boxing lost almost all potential new fighters, as well as many active ones. Furthermore, after Pearl Harbor, _The Japan Times _ceased coverage of sports, pulling boxings popularity further down. Boxing did not receive the negative press of other Western sports like baseball. But it still took a significant loss of popularity and fans due to the war. The first post-war Japanese championship boxing match was not held until 1947, more than two years after the war ended.
Japan Takes to the World Stage
Japan was still reeling from WWII years after it ended. The economy was terrible and many cities were in disarray. The Japanese felt robbed of their identity and self-respect. Japan needed boxing now more than ever, and it was to play an integral part of its post-war revitalization.
Every time two men climbed into the ring, putting everything they had on the line, they proved that the Japanese people still had the backbone and spirit of pre-war Japan. It was proof not only to the boxers, but to every Japanese spectator cheering ringside. Boxing made a defeated people feel empowered again.
In 1952, Yoshio Shirai received an offer for a world title match, the first ever in Japan. But Japan lacked an official governing body for boxing, and thus the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) was founded. Less than a month later, Shirai met Dado Marino in the ring. Shirai fought with a smart and slick style, ultimately defeating Marino by unanimous decision. Shirai was crowned the Flyweight champion of the world, as well as the first Japanese boxer ever to become a world champion. In 1954, the JBC was absorbed by the World Boxing Association, assisting in its legitimization and establishing Japan as a credible player in world boxing.
Besides Shirai, another famous Japanese boxers made it big on the world stage: Fighting Harada. Harada won his first match by KO on February 21st, 1960, and went on to win his first twenty fights. In 1962, Harada knocked out Pone Kingpetch to become the world Flyweight champion. He lost the title in a rematch. But he remained in the higher rankings of world boxing for the next few years.
But Haradas true golden moment came in 1965. Éder Jofre, the man nicknamed Golden, had been standing at the top of the boxing world as the world Bantamweight champion, undefeated in 50 fights. Harada and Jofre fought in Nagoya while the entirety of Japan was glued to their TVs, holding their breath. After 15 long rounds, Harada dethroned the king and became the new world champion via a controversial split decision. This was the match Japan had been waiting for. As one sports writer described it, this match let Japan once more experience fervor. When Jofre finally retired in 1976, Harada ultimately proved to be the only boxer to ever defeat him.
One of Japans favorite boxers came to prominence in the 1970s. Yoko Gushiken, a native Okinawan. He turned pro in 1974 after he found success in the amateur ring, winning the All-Japan High School Tournament. Gushiken won over crowds with his big afro and bushy moustache. He poked holes in his opponents defenses and let loose big left straights for the knockout. Gushiken was nicknamed the Fierce Eagle, and quickly dominated Japans boxing scene. Soon, Gushiken realized that Japan was too small a stage for him, and moved on to challenge the world.
In 1976, Gushiken knocked out Juan Antonio Guzmán in seven rounds, earning his spot as the new world Light Flyweight champion. Gushiken held this title for over four years, winning eight of his thirteen title defenses by knockout. Gushiken experienced his first loss in 1981. Pedro Flores, whom he had narrowly defeated in his last match, requested a rematch, and knocked out Gushiken to seize the title. Gushiken chose to not to return to the ring after this defeat, and retired with 23 wins and only 1 loss.
Modern State of Boxing in Japan
The boxing fever that once gripped Japan has subsided in recent years. The post-war grit is a thing of the past, making iconic heroes like Yoshio Shirai and Joe Yabuki vintage goods. But fights are still broadcast on TV. Japan raises world champion boxers each year, Olympic and professional.
One of the most surprising moments in modern Japanese boxing came in 2011, when Nobuhiro Ishida knocked out James Kirkland in one round. Kirkland had been previously undefeated and was using Ishida as a warm-up fight after a long absence. However, Ishida was able to secure three knockdowns in the first round, causing the referee to call the fight. For a Japanese person to secure a knockout over an undefeated American in the upper weight classes was truly an upset. Especially since Ishida had less than a 25% knockout rate going into the fight. The outcome was so unexpected that no interpreter was on hand for the victory interview, forcing Ishidas trainer to translate with his limited English. The Ring magazine voted the fight as the Upset of the Year.
Pros are not the only ones with exciting news. Japans amateur boxing world was also rocked recently during the 2012 Summer Olympics. Satoshi Shimizu experienced a highly controversial match. Shimizu began boxing as a third year in junior high school, and had previously fought in the 2008 Summer Olympics as a Featherweight. After his loss, Shimizu declined offers to go pro, intent on winning an Olympic gold medal. He returned to the Olympics in 2012 as a Bantamweight, since the Featherweight division had been removed from the games. Shimizu faced Magomed Abdulhamidov of Azerbaijan.
Abdulhamidov started out strong, and Shimizu trailed by seven points by the beginning of the third round. During the final round, Shimizu began his counterattack, and he knocked Abdulhamidov down six times. But Abdulhamidov was awarded a 22-17 victory over Shimizu. This led to an immediate protest by fans and Japanese officials alike. It was later revealed that Azerbaijan had transferred $9 million to an organization owned by the AIBA, which oversees and manages Olympic boxing. Sources claimed that an Azerbaijani government minister was paying for his country to receive at least two gold medals. Although an AIBA committee ultimately found the accusations to be spurious, they still overturned the decision and awarded the fight to Shimizu. According to their decision, the referee had made a mistake by not stopping the fight after three consecutive knockdowns.
Where Will the next Great Japanese Boxer Come From?
In addition to the serious athletes, boxing has found popularity with the masses in the form of boxercise, a workout based on boxing training and techniques. In boxing gyms across Japan, you can find high school students training side-by-side with salarymen and OLs. Hitting the heavy bag, jumping rope, even getting in the ring and hitting mitts are all effective forms of exercise. Few of these wannabe-Tysons are training with the intention to go pro. But they still come in to the gym with the same tenacity and drive of Rocky hitting a slab of meat.
Although people are more likely to think of karate and kend? when discussing martial arts in Japan, boxing has an undeniable place in Japanese culture, both as a sport and as a source of national inspiration.
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