Celes Kobayashi (セレス小林, born Shoji Kobayashi, February 27, 1973) is a former professional boxer from
Ibaraki,
Japan. He is a former
WBA Super flyweight champion. He got his ring name, "Celes", from a company he used to work for. He lives in
Chiba, Japan, with his wife and daughter.
Biography
Kobayashi made his debut in April 1992 in the
bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...
division, losing by 4th-round decision. He dropped down two weight classes to challenge the Japanese flyweight title in 1997, but sustained an injury in the 3rd round, and was unable to capture the title. He challenged the title again in April 1998, losing by 10-round decision, but finally won the title in September of the same year, winning the decision. He defended the title four times from 1998 to 2000.
In August 2000, Kobayashi made his first attempt at the world title against
Malcolm Tunacao for the
WBC Flyweight
Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb).
Professional boxing
The flyweight division was the last of b ...
title. The fight was a draw, and the champion, Tunacao, retained the title. Kobayashi made his second try for the world title in March 2001, challenging
Leo Gamez
Leo or Léo may refer to:
Acronyms
* Law enforcement officer
* Law enforcement organisation
* ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky
* Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity
Arts a ...
for the WBA Super flyweight title. He won by TKO in the 10th round,
having dominated Gamez for the entire fight.
Kobayashi made his first defense in September 2001, winning by split decision. He fought
Alexander Muñoz (undefeated in 21 fights, all won by KO) in March 2002, for his second defense, and lost by TKO in the 8th round to lose his title.
After his loss to Munoz, Kobayashi declined an offer to challenge
Masamori Tokuyama for the WBC Super flyweight title, and retired from boxing.
Post retirement
Kobayashi worked briefly as a trainer for his former gym before creating the "Celes Kobayashi Boxing Gym" in
Chiba, Japan. He frequently appears as a commentator in Japan for boxing title matches.
See also
*
List of WBA world champions
*
List of super flyweight boxing champions
This is a list of world super-flyweight boxing champions (also known as junior-bantamweight), as recognized by the four major sanctioning organizations in boxing:
* The World Boxing Association (WBA), established in 1921 as the National Boxing As ...
*
List of Japanese boxing world champions
*
Boxing in Japan
Sources
External links
*
Celes boxing gym official (Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobayashi, Celes
1973 births
Living people
Super-flyweight boxers
World Boxing Association champions
World super-flyweight boxing champions
World boxing champions
Japanese male boxers
Presidents of the Japan Pro Boxing Association