Kuniaki Shibata (柴田国明, born March 29, 1947, in

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...

, Japan) is a Japanese former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1965 to 1977. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC and ''The Ring

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

titles from 1970 to 1972, the WBA and ''The Ring''

super-featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New ...

titles in 1973, and the WBC super-featherweight title from 1974 to 1975.

Biography

Shibata won his debut match in 1965 with a first-round knockout, and fought for the

Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation The Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) is a professional boxing organization that sanctions title fights in the Asian and Pacific region. History Oriental boxing started in the Philippines in 1946 after the Spanish-American War. While ...

title in 1969, but lost by sixth-round knockout. In April 1970 he challenged for the vacant Japanese featherweight title, and won by tenth-round knockout. He relinquished the title to challenge WBC

champion

Vicente Saldivar Vicente Samuel Saldívar García (May 3, 1943 – July 18, 1985) was a Mexican professional boxer who competed between 1971 and 1973. He was a two-time featherweight champion, having held the WBA, WBC, and ''The Ring'' titles from 1964 until ...

, and won the title when Saldivar gave up after the twelfth round. He made his first defense by first-round knockout, and retained his title in his second defense with a draw, but lost to

Clemente Sanchez Clemente is both an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese surname and a given name. Notable people with the surname include: Surname * Aldo Di Clemente (born 1948), Italian amateur astronomer * Anna Clemente (born 1994), Italian racewalker * Ari Cleme ...

in May, 1972. Shibata moved up to

super featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the Ne ...

, and got his second world title shot against Lineal and WBA champion Ben Villaflor in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

on March 12, 1973. He won by fifteen-round unanimous decision to capture his second world title. Shibata made one defense in Japan before returning to the United States to fight Ben Villaflor again for his second defense. Shibata lost by knockout less than 2 minutes into the first round to lose his second world title. On February 28, 1974, he challenged Ricardo Arredondo for the WBC

title, and won by unanimous decision for his third world title. He defended the title three times before losing to

Alfredo Escalera Alfredo "El Salsero" Escalera (born March 21, 1952) is a Puerto Rican who was a world champion boxer. A native of Carolina, his nickname was "Salsero" because he was a fan of Salsa music. Early boxing career Escalera had his first professiona ...

in 1975. He attempted another comeback, but announced his retirement in 1977. His record was 47-6-3 (25 KOs). Shibata was a short and speedy fighter, who took advantage of even the slightest openings to throw in a flurry of punches. However, he also had a very weak chin, and was very susceptible to counter punches. Five of his six career losses were by knockout. He and former WBC

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight b ...

champion

Guts Ishimatsu , better known as is a Japanese actor, comedian, tarento and former professional boxer who competed in the Lightweight division from 1966 to 1978. He is a one-time former WBC Lightweight Champion and an OPBF Lightweight Champion. As a bo ...

were gym mates, and both fighters were trained by Eddie Townsend.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
Kuniaki Shibata - CBZ Profile
, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Shibata, Kuniaki 1947 births Living people World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions World boxing champions People from Hitachi, Ibaraki Japanese male boxers Super-featherweight boxers

Biography

Professional boxing record

See also

References

External links