is a Japanese former
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
*Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
* Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
. Watanabe, who fought only in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, was one of the first World
super flyweight
Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a 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 responded to pressure from A ...
champions, as the division was relatively new when he was crowned.
Biography
With a background in Shotokan Karate, he started his professional
boxing
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
career with a three-round
knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...
over Keiza Miyazaki. The fight was in
Okayama
is the prefectural capital, capital Cities of Japan, city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The Okayama metropolitan area, centered around the city, has the largest urban employment zone in the Chugoku region of western J ...
, Watanabe's birthplace. Two first-round knockout wins followed, one over Yukihiro Kawahira, and another over Noburu Iishi. There was an immediate rematch with Iishi, and, although the second time around Iishi gave him a tougher test, nevertheless, Watanabe still came out a winner, by a knockout in six.
Three more knockouts followed, two in the first round, including one over
Koji Kobayashi, future WBC world Flyweight champion and brother of former world champion
Royal Kobayashi
, better known as Royal Kobayashi, was a Japanese boxer who competed at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in the featherweight division, and won the WBC junior featherweight titles in 1976. He is an alumnus of the Takushoku University.
Amateur car ...
. Then, Watanabe was taken the distance for the first time, against Jin-Hyun Chun in
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
, Watanabe winning a six-round decision.
After two more decision wins, Watanabe flew to South Korea, where he challenged the
WBC world Jr. Bantamweight champion
Chul-Ho Kim, losing in his first world title bid by a 15-round decision. Watanabe then returned to Japan and won his remaining four bouts for 1981 there, three by knockout.
One of the fighters he beat was Tito Abella, who by then had been ranked as the number one Jr. Bantamweight challenger in the world. Abella was knocked out in four rounds.
In April 1982, the
WBA Jr. Bantamweight champion of the world,
Rafael Pedroza of
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
, the cousin of
Eusebio Pedroza
Eusebio Pedroza (March 2, 1956 – March 1, 2019) was a Panamanian boxer who held the World Boxing Association, WBA and lineal featherweight championship from 1978 to 1985, having defended the title against 18 different contenders, more than any ...
, travelled to
Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
to defend his belt against Watanabe on 8 April. Watanabe won a unanimous 15-round decision and became world champion. Watanabe's remaining fights of 1982 were title defenses against former world champions,
Gustavo Ballas of
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, knocked out in nine rounds, and
Shoji Oguma (former two time world Flyweight champion), beaten by a knockout in 12.
1983 was another busy year for the champion: He beat Luis Ibañez by a knockout in eight, Roberto Ramirez of
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
by a decision in 15, and Soon-Chun Kwon by a technical decision in 11. Watanabe had built a considerable points lead over Kwon, but in round ten, their heads collided, causing a gap in Watanabe's head. He bled profusely, and the fight doctor ordered the fight to be stopped in round eleven, but since it was ruled that the cut was the product of a headbutt, the fight then went to the scorecards, and Watanabe was declared the winner.
In 1984, Watanabe disposed of another Venezuelan challenger, Celso Chavez, by knocking him out in 15 rounds. Then, he and WBC world champion
Payao Poontarat
Payao Poontarat (, , ; October 18, 1956 – August 13, 2006) was a Thai boxer who, at the age of 18, won the bronze medal in the men's Light flyweight (-48 kg) category at the 1976 Summer Olympics. He was the first Thai athlete to win a ...
met in an attempt to unify the world's Jr. Bantamweight title, and Watanabe finally earned the WBC's belt, winning by a 12-round decision. Although Watanabe didn't become undisputed as he was stripped of the WBA title for refusing to defend his title against his number 1 contender,
Khaosai Galaxy
Khaosai Galaxy (, born, 15 May 1959) is a Thai former professional boxer and Muay Thai fighter who competed between 1980 and 1991. He held the WBA super-flyweight title between November 1984 and December 1991. He is listed #19 on ''Ring'' Maga ...
. Watanabe also became the first lineal champion in the division.
There was an immediate rematch, and Watanabe again imposed his will, with an 11-round knockout over the former world champ.
In 1985, he retained the title with a 12-round decision over Julio Soto Solano. Wins over Katsuo Katsuma (KO 7) and Suk-Hwan Yun (KO 5) followed, but in 1986, he defended against the late
Gilberto Roman in what would turn out to be his last fight. He lost to Roman by a 12-round decision and announced his retirement from professional boxing. Unlike so many others, he was able to stay away from the temptation of coming back and trying to regain his old popularity.
Watanabe's successor for the WBA title would be Galaxy. Galaxy would win the vacant title against Eusebio Espinal and also go on to become a Jr. Bantamweight and reel off 19 straight title defenses before retiring.
In 1999, Watanabe was spotted at a
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
activity honoring
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
's greatest boxing champions, alongside
Fighting Harada
Masahiko Harada (born April 5, 1943), better known as Fighting Harada, is a Japanese former professional boxer. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the NYSAC, WBA, and ''The Ring'' undisputed flyweight titles from 1962 ...
,
Jung-Koo Chang,
Yoko Gushiken
is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 1974 to 1981. He held the WBA light-flyweight title from 1976 to 1981, making a total of 13 successful defences. Following his retirement from boxing, he remains popular in Japan as a ...
,
Sot Chitalada
Sot Chitalada (, ), born as Chaovalit Wongcharoean (; ; 5 May 1962, in Chonburi, Thailand) is a Thai former boxer who was twice WBC and Lineal Flyweight Champion, having defended the title against nine boxers in total.
Biography and career
He ...
, and former rivals Chul-Ho Kim and Poontarat, among others.
In August 1995, he was arrested for
blackmail
Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat.
As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...
. He ran an import business in
Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
, and threatened the debtors by saying that he would beat them to death. Police suspended judgment on the matter, so he was released.
In October 1999, he was arrested for giving a gun to a friend who was prosecuted for
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
. In July 2000, he was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months imprisonment.
After being released in 2004, he was arrested for blackmail along with
Kenji Haga, ex-actor, and a
yakuza
, also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...
of
Yamaguchigumi, on 30 June 2007. He has denied the suspicion, but Japan Boxing Commission banished him on 27 July 2007.
Professional boxing record
See also
*
List of super-flyweight boxing champions
*
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 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 their fists wrapped i ...
References
External links
*
Jiro Watanabe – CBZ Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watanabe, Jiro
1955 births
Living people
Super-flyweight boxers
World super-flyweight boxing champions
World Boxing Association champions
World Boxing Council champions
Yakuza members
Japanese male boxers
Martial artists from Okayama Prefecture
Sportspeople convicted of crimes
20th-century Japanese sportsmen