is a Japanese former professional boxer from Saitama. He is a former WBA

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 ...

champion.

Biography

Saijo made his professional debut in August, 1964, but did not show immediate promise in the ring, losing or drawing against several lowly regarded fighters. He traveled to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he fought three times before meeting WBA

champion

Raul Rojas Raul Rojas (November 5, 1941 – May 20, 2012) was an American featherweight boxer. He accumulated a record of 38 wins (24 by KO), 7 losses and 2 draws. On March 28, 1968, Rojas defeated Enrique Higgins to win the WBA Featherweight Title, which ...

in a non-title match. Saijo won by decision, and challenged Rojas for the title on September 27, 1968 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He defeated Rojas for the second time, becoming the seventh Japanese boxer to win a world title, and the first Japanese boxer to win a title fighting outside Japan. He defended the title a total of six times before losing to Antonio Gomez in 1971. He also fought in numerous non-title matches in between his defenses, including a bout against WBA

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

champion, Hiroshi Kobayashi, where Saijo lost by decision over 10 rounds. This was the first fight between two Japanese boxers that had possession of the world title. Saijo retired from boxing after losing his world title, but made an ill-fated debut in the

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

world, where he fought

muay thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

champion

Toshio Fujiwara Toshio Fujiwara (藤原敏男 ''Fujiwara Toshio'', born March 3, 1948) is a Japanese former kickboxer. Out of 141 professional fights before retiring at age 35, Fujiwara won 126, with a remarkable 99 by knockout; most notably, he was the first n ...

. Saijo disappointed fans by turning his back towards Fujiwara at one point in their match, and he retired from all sports activities shortly afterwards. His professional boxing record was 29-7-2 (8KOs).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saijo, Shozo 1947 births Featherweight boxers Living people World Boxing Association champions World featherweight boxing champions Japanese male boxers

Biography

See also

External links