Katsuya Onizuka
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

is a former WBA
Super Flyweight Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . History The first title match in this division was in 1980, when the World Boxing Council respond ...
champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...
from
Kitakyushu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuku ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Onizuka was an extremely popular boxer in Japan, creating a boxing boom in Japan during the early 1990s along with
Joichiro Tatsuyoshi is a former World Boxing Council (WBC) world bantamweight champion from Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan. His record is 20–7–1 (14 KOs). He is popular for his fight style and unique personality, and has appeared in several television variety shows ...
.


Biography

Onizuka began boxing in middle school, entering a local boxing gym to begin training. He won several high amateur boxing tournaments in high school, but lost a match in his senior year against
Hiroshi Kawashima Hiroshi Kawashima ( ja, 川島 郭志; born March 27, 1970) is a former professional boxer. He defended the WBC super flyweight title six times. Childhood and early career Kawashima began boxing from an early age under the guidance of his fat ...
, who would later win the
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
Super Flyweight Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . History The first title match in this division was in 1980, when the World Boxing Council respond ...
title. Onizuka had already been accepted to Kinki University, but decided to turn pro after being battered in a sparring session with
Hiroki Ioka is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 1999. He has held world championships in two weight class (boxing), weight classes, having held the World Boxing Council, WBC mini-flyweight title from 1987 to 1988, and the World ...
, who had just become the
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
Minimumweight champion. He entered the Kyoei boxing gym in Tokyo, and made his professional debut in 1988 as a
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 bo ...
. Onizuka quickly built up his record, and won the Japanese Super Flweight title in October, 1990, which he defended three times before moving on to challenge the world title. His first world title match came in April, 1992, fighting
Thanomsak Sithbaobay Thanomsak Sithbaobay ( th, ถนอมศักดิ์ ศิษย์โบ๊เบ๊; born: April 5, 1965 in Maha Sarakham province) is a retired Thai professional boxer, who challenged the world champion three times, but not successful ...
for the WBA Super Flyweight title, which had been vacated by legendary
Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...
boxer
Khaosai Galaxy Khaosai Galaxy ( th, เขาทราย แกแล็คซี่, born, 15 May 1959) is a Thai former professional boxer who competed between 1980 and 1991. He was also a Muay Thai practitioner. He held the WBA super-flyweight title betwee ...
. Onizuka won a close 12 round decision, the first of the series of controversial wins in his career.
Akinobu Hiranaka Akinobu Hiranaka (平仲 明信, born Nobuaki Hiranaka, on November 14, 1963) is a former world champion boxer in the Light welterweight ( Super lightweight or former Junior welterweight) division. He won the WBA Junior Welterweight championsh ...
also won the WBA
Super Lightweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...
title in Mexico the same day. He defended his title for the first time on September 11, 1990, winning by TKO in the 5th round. This would be his only non-decision win in world title fights. He fought Mexican fighter Armando Castro three months later for his second defense, and won an indisputable victory. This fight was the height of Onizuka's career. Onizuka's third defense came on May 21, 1993, against Korean fighter Jae-Shin Lim, who had previously fought with the alias, "Kotaro Hayashi." Onizuka was predicted to win easily, but the challenger pummeled Onizuka throughout the fight, and Onizuka barely won by split decision. Two of the three judges of the fight were Japanese, and had both scored the bout in favor of Onizuka, making the fight one of the worst and most obvious cases of a hometown decision. After his controversial fight, Onizuka fought
Thanomsak Sithbaobay Thanomsak Sithbaobay ( th, ถนอมศักดิ์ ศิษย์โบ๊เบ๊; born: April 5, 1965 in Maha Sarakham province) is a retired Thai professional boxer, who challenged the world champion three times, but not successful ...
for the second time, and made his fourth defense by another close 12 round decision. He made a fifth successful defense by 12 round decision on April 10, 1994, despite having been knocked down for the first time in his professional career in the 5th round. Onizuka finally lost in his sixth defense on September 18, 1994 against Hyung-Chul Lee no.1 WBA challenger, where he was trapped in the corner and beaten relentlessly for over a minute by the challenger. The referee finally stopped the fight in the 9th round, and Onizuka lost his title after two years of controversial defenses. He was found to have a detached retina in the right eye after the fight, and announced his retirement. Onizuka explained that he had actually suspected an injury in his right eye over two years ago, but had kept it to himself to avoid being forced into retirement. His record was 24-1-0 (17KOs).


Post retirement

Onizuka lived away from boxing for a while after retirement, but now trains young boxers at his boxing gym in his hometown,
Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
. He often appears on TBS boxing broadcasts as a commentator. Fans were reminded of Onizuka's controversial wins when Koki Kameda won a hometown decision to become the WBA Light Flyweight champion in 2006. Both Kameda and Onizuka were trained and managed by the Kyoei boxing gym, and Onizuka has appeared as a commentator in several of Kameda's fights.


See also

*
List of WBA world champions This is a list of WBA world champions, showing every world champion certified by the World Boxing Association (WBA). The list also includes champions certified by the National Boxing Association (NBA), the predecessor to the WBA. Boxers who won t ...
*
List of Japanese boxing world champions This is a list of Japanese boxing world champions who have won major world titles from the "Big four" Sports governing body, governing bodies in professional boxing namely the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC), Internation ...
*
Boxing in Japan The history of boxing in Japan began in 1854 when Matthew C. Perry, Matthew Perry landed at Shimoda, Shizuoka soon after the Convention of Kanagawa. At that time, American sailors often engaged in sparring matches on board their ships, with thei ...


External links

*
Katsuya Onizuka official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onizuka, Katsuya Sportspeople from Kitakyushu World Boxing Association champions World super-flyweight boxing champions Boxing commentators World boxing champions Living people 1970 births Japanese male boxers 20th-century Japanese people