- Koichi Wajima
Infobox_Boxer
name=Koichi Wajima
realname=Koichi Wajima
nickname=Hono no Otoko (Man on Fire)
weight=super welterweight
nationality= flagicon|JPNJapan ese
birth_date=Birth date and age|1943|4|21|mf=y
death_date=
birth_place=Hokkaidō ,Japan
home=Tokyo ,Japan
style=Orthodox
total=38
wins=31
KO=25
losses=6
draws=1
no contests=0|Koichi Wajima (輪島 功一 born
April 21 ,1943 inHokkaidō ,Japan ) was a professional boxer in thesuper welterweight (154 lb) division. He is a former WBC and WBA champion.Childhood and Early Career
Wajima was born in Karafuto, (current
Sakhalin ) which became Soviet territory when Wajima was three years old. He and his family moved toShibetsu, Hokkaidō , but barely managed to scrape out a living there. Wajima was put up for adoption, and lived with his stepfamily while his parents worked in Shibetsu.Wajima began to work as a fisherman with his stepfamily. He was still in middle school, but had to work from sunset all the way to daybreak. The only time he had to sleep was during class. He was a fighter from a young age, having to work tirelessly each day, and often picking fights with other kids.
After graduating from middle school, he traveled to
Tokyo , where he worked briefly as a truck driver before joining the Misako Boxing Gym. He made his professional debut in March, 1968, at the age of 25.Professional career
Wajima captured the Japanese
super welterweight title in September, 1969. He defended the title 9 times before returning it. He got his first shot at the world title againstCarmelo Bossi for the world super welterweight title onOctober 31 ,1971 inTokyo . He won by 15-round split decision to capture his first world title. He made his first defense in May, 1972, taking less than 2 minutes to knock out his opponent. He would defend the title a total of 6 times. He quickly became one of the most popular boxers in Japan for his peculiar "Frog Jump" uppercut punch.He lost his 7th defense to
Oscar Albarado in 1974 by KO in the 15th round. He got a rematch with Albarado 7 months later, onJanuary 21 ,1975 , and managed to avenge his loss with a 15-round decision win to regain the WBC and WBA titles. He was stripped of the WBC title in March, and lost toJae Doo Yuh to lose his WBA super welterweight title as well. However, he regained his WBA title in February, 1976, with a 15th round KO over Yuh.Wajima lost to
Jose Manuel Duran in his first defense, losing the world title for the third time in his career. He fought his final match In June, 1977, challengingEddie Gazo for the WBA super welterweight title, but lost by 11th round KO. This was the last fight of his career. His record was 31-6-1 (25KOs).Post Retirement
Like many other Japanese boxers, Wajima became a successful television personality after retiring, and has appeared on game shows and television dramas. He became the head of the Eastern Japan Boxing Council, and has founded his own boxing gym in
Tokyo . His brother-in-law also runs a successful dumpling store inKokubunji, Tokyo . He also claims that condemned prisonerIwao Hakamada is innocence. [cite web|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20061121a6.html|title=Calls mount for retrial of boxer 38 years on death row|publisher=The Japan Times |date=2006-11-21|accessdate=2008-07-22]See also
*
List of WBA world champions
*List of WBC world champions References
External links
*
* [http://wajima-gym.com/ Koichi Wajima boxing gym official (Japanese)]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
