Koichi Wajima

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Koichi Wajima
Light-middleweight
Height5 ft 7+1⁄2 in (171 cm)[1]
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights38
Wins31
Wins by KO25
Losses6
Draws1

Koichi Wajima (輪島 功一, born 21 April 1943) is a Japanese former professional

light-middleweight champion. He held the WBA and WBC titles from 1971 and 1974, he regained the titles in January 1975 that included The Ring
title but lost it right away on June of the same year. He once again won the WBA and The Ring title in 1976.

Childhood and early career

Wajima was born in Karafuto, (current

Shibetsu.[citation needed
]

Wajima began to work as a fisherman with his stepfamily. He was still in middle school, but had to work from sunset all the way to daybreak. The only time he had to sleep was during class. He was a fighter from a young age, having to work tirelessly each day, and often picking fights with other kids.

After graduating from middle school, he traveled to Tokyo, where he worked briefly as a truck driver before joining the Misako Boxing Gym. He made his professional debut in March, 1968, at the age of 25.

Professional career

Wajima captured the Japanese

light-middleweight title in September, 1969. He defended the title 9 times before returning it. He got his first shot at the world title against Carmelo Bossi for the world light middleweight title on October 31, 1971, in Tokyo, winning by 15-round split decision to capture his first world title.[2]
He made his first defense in May, 1972, taking less than 2 minutes to knock out his opponent. He would defend the title a total of 6 times. He quickly became one of the most popular boxers in Japan for his peculiar "Frog Jump" uppercut punch.

He lost his 7th defense to

Jae-Doo Yuh to lose his Lineal and WBA
light middleweight titles as well. However, he regained his Lineal and WBA titles in February, 1976, with a 15th-round KO over Yuh.

Wajima lost to

Jose Manuel Duran in his first defense, losing the world title for the third time in his career. He fought his final match In June, 1977, challenging Eddie Gazo for the WBA
super welterweight title, but lost by 11th-round KO. This was the last fight of his career. His record was 31-6-1 (25KOs).

Professional boxing record

38 fights 31 wins 6 losses
By knockout 25 5
By decision 6 1
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
38 Loss 30–6–1 Eddie Gazo TKO 11 (15), 0:45 Jun 7, 1977
Nihon Budokan
, Tokyo, Japan 		For WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
37 Loss 30–5–1
Jose Manuel Duran
 KO 14 (15), 0:50 May 18, 1976 Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan Lost WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
36 Win 30–4–1
Yuh Jae-Doo
 KO 15 (15), 1:47 Feb 17, 1976 Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan Won WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
35 Loss 29–4–1
Yuh Jae-Doo
 KO 7 (15), 2:04 Jun 7, 1975 City Sogo Gym,
Kitakyushu, Fukuoka
, Japan 		Lost WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
34 Win 29–3–1 Oscar Albarado UD 15 Jan 21, 1975 Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan Won WBA, WBC, and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
33 Loss 28–3–1 Oscar Albarado KO 15 (15), 1:57 Jun 4, 1974 Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan Lost WBA and WBC junior-middleweight titles;
For inaugural The Ring junior-middleweight title
32 Win 28–2–1 Miguel De Oliveira MD 15 Feb 5, 1974 Metropolitan Gym, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBA and WBC junior-middleweight titles
31 Win 27–2–1 Silvano Bertini RTD 12 (15), 3:00 Aug 14, 1973 Makomanai Ice Arena, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan Retained WBA and WBC junior-middleweight titles
30 Win 26–2–1 Ryu Sorimachi MD 15 Apr 19, 1973
Prefectural Gymnasium
, Osaka, Japan 		Retained WBA and WBC junior-middleweight titles
29 Draw 25–2–1 Miguel De Oliveira MD 15 Jan 9, 1973 Metropolitan Gym, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBA and WBC junior-middleweight titles
28 Win 25–2 Matt Donovan KO 3 (15), 0:53 Oct 3, 1972 Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBA and WBC junior-middleweight titles
27 Win 25–2 Domenico Tiberia KO 1 (15), 1:49 May 7, 1972 Sports Centre, Fukuoka, Japan Retained WBA and WBC junior-middleweight titles
26 Win 24–2 Cassius Naito KO 7 (12), 1:30 Feb 2, 1972 Metropolitan Gym, Tokyo, Japan
25 Win 23–2 Carmelo Bossi SD 15 Oct 31, 1971 Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan Won WBA and WBC junior-middleweight titles
24 Win 22–2 Tetsuo Hoshino KO 2 (10), 2:41 May 28, 1971 Tokyo, Japan Retained Japanese junior-middleweight title
23 Win 21–2 Alfredo Fuentes KO 1 (10), 3:08 Mar 26, 1971 Tokyo, Japan
22 Win 20–2 Hideo Kanazawa KO 2 (10), 1:45 Feb 18, 1971 Osaka, Japan
21 Win 19–2 Hisao Minami KO 7 (10), 2:38 Jan 8, 1971 Tokyo, Japan Retained Japanese junior-middleweight title
20 Win 18–2 Raizo Kashima KO 3 (10), 2:34 Oct 30, 1970 Tokyo, Japan Retained Japanese junior-middleweight title
19 Win 17–2 Tetsuo Hoshino KO 5 (10), 2:12 Sep 10, 1970 Tokyo, Japan Retained Japanese junior-middleweight title
18 Win 16–2 Muneo Mizoguchi KO 8 (10), 2:09 Aug 9, 1970 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained Japanese junior-middleweight title
17 Win 15–2 Ken Sato KO 3 (10), 2:31 May 23, 1970
Sapporo, Hokkaido
, Japan
16 Win 14–2 George Carter SD 10 Apr 9, 1970 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained Japanese junior-middleweight title
15 Loss 13–2 George Carter UD 10 Feb 5, 1970 Tokyo, Japan Retained Japanese junior-middleweight title
14 Win 13–1 Turtle Okabe KO 7 (10), 2:25 Dec 18, 1969 Tokyo, Japan Retained Japanese junior-middleweight title
13 Loss 12–1 Pedro Adigue KO 1 (10), 2:21 Oct 30, 1969 Tokyo, Japan
12 Win 12–0 Noriyasu Yoshimura KO 4 (10), 1:37 Sep 4, 1969
Nagoya, Aichi
, Japan 		Won Japanese
junior-middleweight
title
11 Win 11–0 Rocky Alarde KO 8 (10), 1:28 Jul 30, 1969 Tokyo, Japan
10 Win 10–0 Alacran Kusanagi KO 9 (10), 0:21 Jun 16, 1969 Tokyo, Japan
9 Win 9–0 Takemi Kato KO 6 (8), 1:00 Mar 27, 1969 Tokyo, Japan
8 Win 8–0 Masaki Nomoto PTS 6 Feb 3, 1969 Tokyo, Japan
7 Win 7–0 Masami Takechi RTD 4 (6), 3:00 Dec 30, 1968 Tokyo, Japan
6 Win 6–0 Sozo Yamamoto KO 1 (4), 1:25 Oct 27, 1968 Tokyo, Japan
5 Win 5–0 Takao Higa KO 3 (4), 1:19 Oct 6, 1968 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
4 Win 4–0 Tadakazu Sakai KO 2 (4), 1:05 Aug 31, 1968 Tokyo, Japan
3 Win 3–0 Toshiaki Kaneko KO 3 (4), 2:00 Aug 8, 1968 Tokyo, Japan
2 Win 2–0 Koji Watanabe KO 2 (4), 0:52 Jun 30, 1968 Tokyo, Japan
1 Win 1–0 Akira Takekawa KO 1 (4), 2:41 Jun 15, 1968 Tokyo, Japan

Post retirement

Like many other Japanese boxers, Wajima became a successful television personality after retiring, and has appeared on game shows and television dramas. He became the head of the Eastern Japan Boxing Council, and has founded his own boxing gym in Tokyo. His brother-in-law also runs a successful dumpling store in Kokubunji, Tokyo. He also claims that condemned prisoner Iwao Hakamada is innocent.[3] Hakamada was later released after 45 years in prison, due to new evidence and discovery of the prosecution's reliance on falsified evidence.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Koichi Wajima". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Koichi Wajima - Lineal Junior Middleweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  3. ^ "Calls mount for retrial of boxer 38 years on death row". The Japan Times. 2006-11-21. Retrieved 2008-07-22.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Koichi Wajima.
Sporting positions
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBA light-middleweight champion
October 31, 1971 – June 4, 1974 		Succeeded by
WBC light-middleweight champion
October 31, 1971 – June 4, 1974
Undisputed light-middleweight champion
October 31, 1971 – June 4, 1974
Preceded by
Oscar Albarado
 WBA light-middleweight champion
January 21, 1975 – June 7, 1975 		Succeeded by
WBC light-middleweight champion
January 21, 1975 – March 22, 1975
Stripped 		Vacant
Title next held by
Miguel de Oliveira
The Ring light-middleweight champion
January 21, 1975 – June 7, 1975 		Succeeded by
Yuh Jae-doo
Undisputed light-middleweight champion
January 21, 1975 – March 22, 1975
Titles fragmented 		Vacant
Title next held by
Winky Wright
Preceded by
Yuh Jae-doo
 WBA light-middleweight champion
February 17, 1976 – May 18, 1976 		Succeeded by
The Ring light-middleweight champion
February 17, 1976 – May 18, 1976
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Koichi_Wajima&oldid=1127849199"