The story of Piston Horiguchi

When we think of the most remarkable of Japanese fighters we rarely mention the legendary Tsuneo "Piston" Horiguchi (142-26-15, 87) who recorded more wins and more knockouts than any other Japanese fighter in history. He was never a world champion but he amazingly fit in more than 180 bouts into his career. A career that lasted just over 17 years, from 1933 to 1950, and ended when he was in his mid 30's. Sadly he died soon after his final fight when he was hit on the train tracks at the age of 36.

Although never a big name around the world "Piston" claimed two Japanese titles and an Oriental title whilst also popularising boxing in Japan in the 1930's and 1940's. His style was relentless, all action and incredibly exciting, helping draw an audience and interest in the sport in Japan. By the time he retired however his style was seen as being out of date by those in the west who had began to really develop the art of defensive boxing much further than it had been when Horiguchi began his career.

In 1994 there was a documentary based on Horiguchi's careers and that's the documentary that can be seen below and shows the effect of Horiguchi on Japanese boxing more than 40 years after his death. The documentary, in Japanese, is genuinely interesting and looks at various aspects of his life and is well worth watching if you're able to understand Japanese.

Note-There is some dispute over his record with Japanese sources suggesting his record was actually 138-24-14 (82)