2006-Manny Pacquiao Vs Erik Morales II
Recently we saw Manny Pacquiao, at the age of 40, defeat Adrien Broner. Whilst that wasn't a prime Pacquiao it's amazing to think how long he has been on top of the sport. On this day in 2006 Pacquiao avenged his third professional loss by not just beating Mexican icon Erik Morales but stopping him, as he scored a 10th round TKO over "El Terrible" and evened their rivalry. Morales had beaten Pacquiao in 2005, famously turning southpaw to have a war with the Filipino in the final round, but would be stopped in back-to-back bouts by Pacquiao in 2006. Morales would continue his legendary career through to 2012 before retiring with a record of 52-9 (36), and went on well beyond his best. Pacquiao continues to fight, and is now 61-7-2 (39). 1989-Plaisakda Boonmalert Debut Typically we wouldn't talk about a journeyman in this section of the site, but Plaisakda Boonmalert needs to be congratulated on his 30th year as a professional! The Thai debuted back in 1989, at the age of 16, and fought as recently as November 2018! If he can fit in a fight next year, 2020, he will join a very short list of fighters to compete in 5 different decades, joining the likes of Robert Duran (60's, 70's, 80's 90's and 00's), Saoul Mamby (60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and 00's), Kid Azteca (20's, 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's) and Jack Johnson (1890's, 1900's, 10s, 20's and 30's) 1947-Susumu Hanagata's birthday Japanese fighter Susumu Hanagata may not be one of the countries legendary names, but he is an often over-looked fighter from the Land of the rising Sun. He was born on this day in 1947 and would be a fixture in the Flyweight division from the late 1960's to the mid 1970's. Hanagata is probably best known for a a 1968 win over Masao Oba, who would avenge the loss in 1972. As well as defeating the legendary Oba he would also score notable wins over Efran Torres, in 1969, and Chartchai Chionoi in 1974, to win the WBA Flyweight title. Sadly his reign as a world champion was a short one, losing in his first defense. During a 13 year career, that ended in 1973, Hanagata would go 41-16-8 (8). What makes that even more remarkable is that he started his career 8-6-5.
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2006-Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym Vs Valdemir Pereira
In 2006 Thai veteran Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym ended his career, following a loss on this day to Brazilian fighter Valdemir Pereira in an IBF Featherweight title fight. The Thai, also known as Prayat Sawaingam, had held the WBF Bantamweight title early in his career but would come up short in 2002 against Manny Pacquiao in a bout for the IBF Super Bantamweight title. He would out grow the Super Bantamweight division and run up 14 straight wins to earn himself a shot at the vacant title. In the opposite was the then 22-0 Valdemir Pereira. Sadly for the Thai Pereira would out box him to take a clear decision and the IBF Featherweight title. After the bout Fahprakorb hung up the gloves, with a record of 51-4 (33). On the other hand Pereira would fight twice more, before losing by DQ to Eric Aiken in May 2016, in what was his first title defense. He would then retire himself with a record of 24-1 (15) 1993-Chiaki Kobayashi passes It was on this day in 1993 that former world title challenger Chiaki Kobayashi passed away, at the age of 28. Although a relatively forgotten name in boxing he had carved out a solid record after starting his career 2-3, and building to 14-3 over the following few years. He would score a career defining win in 1987, beating Naoto Takahashi for the Japanese Bantamweight title and in 1989 he faced Sung Kil Moon for the WBA Bantamweight title. Sadly Kobayashi would lose to Moon and then retire, with a record of 14-4 (5). He was still in his mid 20's by this point and went to look for new challenges, they involved driving fast and he would look to become a race car driver. Sadly though a crash in practice lead to his death at the age of 28. 1990-Nana Yaw Konadu v Sung Kil Moon I Whilst Moon's former challenger Chiaki Kobayashi passed away on this day it's rather coincidental that 3 years before Kobayashi's death Moon actually won the WBC Super Flyweight title. The stone fisted Korean would beat Nana Yaw Konadu in their first bout, taking a 9th round technical decision in a crazy bout that saw both men down, multiple times. The bout was Moon's second since losing the WBA Bantamweight title to Khaokor Galaxy in 1989 and saw him become a 2-weight champion in just 12 bouts. Moon and Konadu would rematch in 1991, with Moon stopping the man from Ghana to record his third defense. He would continue to defend the title until losing the belt to Jose Luis Bueno in 1993, and he retired soon afterwards with a record of 20-2 (15). Despite only fighting 22 bouts, and being a professional for less than 7 years, Moon would squeeze in an incredible 15 world title fights and prove himself as one of the most legendary Korean fighters. 2000-Eagle Den Junlaphan debut
Den Junlaphan, also known as Eagle Kyowa, Eagle Den Junlaphan and Eagle Akakura, is one of the many fighters who has been born outside of Japan but made the Land of the Rising Sun their boxing home. His career began on this day in 2000, when he was 21, and actually began in his native Thailand. His debut saw him take out Saming Porkungpaorachada in 2 rounds, in Bangkok and his first 5 bouts would actually all take place in Thailand before he moved over to Japan. In Japan Junlaphan would go 13-1, winning the WBC Minimumweight title twice and scored notable wins over Jose Antonio Aguirre, Katsunari Takayama, Rodel Mayol and Akira Yaegashi. Sadly he would lose in his return to Thailand in 2007, losing the WBC title to Oleydong Sithsamerchai in 2007 and then retire. With a career record of 18-2 (6) Den Junlaphan hasn't got a huge record, but with a record of 7-2 in world title fights, and a number of strong wins he deserves to be remembered a very good and often over-looked fighter from the early part of this millennium. 1991-Masahiro Sakamoto AND Masayuki Ito birthdays Amazingly both Masayuki Ito and Masahiro Sakamoto were both born on this day in 1991! Ito, the current WBO Super Featherweight world champion, has certainly had more success than Sakamoto, who came up short in an IBF Flyweight title fight, but is a remarkable coincidence that both men were born on the same day and both have had pretty notable success in the pro-fight scene. Ito has won almost everything, from Rookie titles to world honours, whilst Sakamoto has fought for a world title and held a regional belt. 1978-Royal Kobayashi challenges Wilfredo Gomez Japan's Royal Kobayashi isn't a name that comes up very often, and sadly he is probably best remembered for having a very short reign as the WBC Super Bantamweight champion and for losing most of his notable bouts. What needs to be remembered however is that Kobayashi went in with some huge names from his era. Among the many fighters that Kobayashi shared the ring with was the monstrously hard hitting Wilfredo Gomez, who Kobayashi challenged on this day in 1978, as he attempted to reclaim the title that he had held for 46 days. Notably Kobayasho got off to a good start, and was leading on 2 of the 3 scorecards, after 2 rounds. Sadly however, Gomez's power proved to be the difference maker in round 3, dropping Kobayashi 3 times in quick succession to defend the title. Kobayashi would recover from this loss to take the OPBF title Featherweight title, but lose in a subsequent world title bout to Eusebio Pedroza. He would fight on into the early 1980's before retiring with a record of 35-8 (27). Gomez on the other hand would go on to defend until 1983, when he moved up in weight and became the WBC Featherweight champion. Gomez's last fight came in 1989 and then he retired with an incredible record of 44-3-1 (42), a record that backs up the belief that he was one of the hardest hitting fighters of all time! 1975-Somjit Jongjohor born It was on this day in 1975 that Thailand's Somjit Jonghohor was born. Although you find Somjit Jongjohor's name in a professional boxing record he is a very notable former Thai amateur who was a standout in the early part of this millennium. In 2002 Sonjit won the Asian Games gold medal, and he built on that success in 2003 Somjit won the World Amateur Championship gold medal at Flyweight. Not only did he win the gold, but he did so by beating Yuriorkis Gamboa, Jerome Thomas and Rustam Rahimov on route to that gold medal. A loss to Gamboa in 2004 Olympics again showed how well the men were matched but he would bounce back to take a silver medal at the 2007 World Amateur Championships and then a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. On route to his Olympic medal Somjit defeated the likes of Anvar Yunusov, Vincenzo Picardo and Andry Laffita. After the 2008 Olympics Somjit retired from active boxing and joined the Thai national team as a coach. 1987-Seung Hoon Lee vs Prayurasak Muangsurin
In the past the IBF was a controversial organisation, it wasn't recognised in Japan where they actually had IBF Japan as a rival to the JBC and in Korea it was essentially abandoned in the late 1980's. One fighter to be effected by Korea's decision to stop staging IBF title fights was Seung Hoon Lee. On this day in 1987 Lee won the IBF Super Bantamweight title by defeating Thailand's Prayurasak Muangsurin for the vacant title, after having fallen short in 3 prior title shots. He would beat Muangsurin with a 9th round TKO, in what was the Thai's second world title shot. As a champion Lee would make 3 defenses before vacating the title. He would go on to challenger for the WBC title in 1988, but end up fighting to a draw against Daniel Zaragoza. He would have his final bout in 1989 before retiring with a record of 45-6-1 (25). Muangsurin on the other hand would fight for the final time at the end of 1987, before retiring himself with a record of 21-7 (14). 1956-Flash Elorde vs Sandy Saddler II In the summer of 1955 Filipino legend Flash Elorde defeated American Sandy Saddler. Early the following year the two men had a rematch, this time with Sadly risking the Featherweight world title. Unfortunately for Elorde this was a case of repeat, and not revenge, with Saddler defending the title due to a 13th round TKO, from cuts. Despite the loss Elorde would remain a notable contender and in 1960 he defeated Harold Gomes in 7 rounds to become the Super Featherweight world champion. He would hold that title until 1967. He would also go on to hold the OPBF Lightweight title and fight all the way through to 1971, having debuted in 1951. During his career Elorde would go 89-27-2 (33), he would become a legendary name in Filipino boxing with his grandchildren, Juan Martin and Juan Miguel, now fighters themselves. Sadly however Elorde passed away in 1985, from cancer, before he could be inducted into the IBHOF. Saddler on the other hand would fight just twice more, going 1-1 following this bout with Elorde, before retiring due to a freak injury with an incredible record of 145-16-2 (104). He would live to the age of 75, passing away in 2001 following multiple health issues. 1955-Sang Hyun Kim's Birthday Korean fighter Sang Hyun Kim was born on this day back in 1955, and he was one of the many fighters from Korea who made their name in the 1970's and 80's. Kim would become the WBC Light Welterweight champion in 1978, defeating Saensak Munagsurin for the title, and he would go on to make 2 defenses before losing the belt to Saoul Mamby in 1980. Kim would continue to fight until 1983, losing in an attempt to become a 2-time world champion as he was taken out by Aaron Pryor in 3 rounds. He retired after that loss with a record of 41-4-3 (24). During his career he was not only a world champion but also a 2-time OPBF champion and one of the many Korean fighters to prove himself at world level. 2008-Tepparith Singwancha debuts
Thailand's Tepparith Singwancha, also known as Panthep Mullipoom, made his debut on this day in 2008. He would debut at the Nonthaburi Female High-School and score a 3rd round TKO over fellow debutant Chanasuk Sor Samranchai. Although not well known in the West Tepparith would go on to have a pretty notable career, scoring wins over Filipino pair Rey Megrino and Drian Francisco before defeating Daiki Kameda, Tomonobu Shimizu and Nobuo Nashiro, to earn the Japanese Killer tag and make several defenses of the WBA Super Flyweight title. That nickname was short lived however and he lost the title at the end of 2012, when he was stopped by Kohei Kono. Sadly following the loss to Kono we saw Tepparith's career sort of fade into nothingness, with 4 low key wins before ending his career in 2016, with a record of 25-3 (22). A potential unification bout with the then WBC Super Flyweight champion Suriyan Sor Rungvisai looked exciting, though both men lost their titles before the bout ended up being made. 1987-Ji Hoon Kim birthday One of the few recent Korean fighters to make their mark on professional boxing was Ji Hoon Kim. Kim, dubbed the "Volcano" was born in Goyan City on this day in 1987, and made his debut at the age of 17. His early career was pretty unremarkable, in fact he lost 3 of his first 5 and was 8-5 after 13 fights. From then on however things clicked and he would go on to become one of the most notable Korean fighter's this millennium. Kim would become a cult fighting figure in the US, following a win over Koba Gogoladze in 2008, he would win the IBO Featherweight title in 2009 and then return to the US for a string of fights. Sadly Kim lost in his sole world title fight, being clearly out pointed by Miguel Vazquez in 2010, but remained a constant fan favourite until his retirement. Kim's last bout was in 2013 and he would retire quietly some time afterwards, due to eye eye issues. The last we heard he was still in the US. As a fighter Kim's record doesn't read amazingly, at 25-9 (19), but he certainly left a lasting impression on fans who had the chance to see him in action. 1984-Toshiyuki Igarashi's birthday Japanese fighter Toshiyuki Igarashi isn't likely to be remembered long into the future, and his short reign as the WBC, and Linear, Flyweight champion was that of a transitionary champion between bigger names. Despite that he was a pretty key figure for the Teiken gym in having won the Japanese title in 2011 and the WBC title in 2012. Igarashi was born on this day in 1984 and although not that fondly remembered he did share the ring with some pretty notable names, losing to the likes of Tomonobu Shimizu, Akira Yaegashi and Sho Kimura. Sadly the latter part of his career is best known for messy, scrappy fights, marred by headclashes rather than exciting action. It's also a career that was cursed with injuries, and Igarashi really did have some bad luck after his short world title run. Igarashi was a good amateur and as a professional held a solid 23-3-3 (12) record in a career that began in 2006 and ended in 2017. 2010-Hoang Sang Nguyen v Ruddy Encarnacion
It's fair to say that boxing and Vietnam are not regularly connected, and that if we're being honest it's hard to think about many notable Vietnamese fighters. On this day in 2010 however Hoang Sang Nguyen claimed the European Union Lightweight title, in what is arguably the biggest win for a Vietnamese fighter ever. The Spanish based Vietnamese born Nguyen would defeat Spain's Ruddy Encarnacion, in what was a second bout between the two men. It was a competitive contest, but Nguyen did just enough to earn the decision, the win and the title. Sadly Nguyen never built on this win. He failed to defend the title and was inactive for over a year before he was KO'd by Dejan Zlaticanin, and retired, boasting a record of 25-6-1-1 (11). Amazingly Encarcion is still an active fighter, at the age of 39, and last fought in October 2018. His record is 39-27-4 (18). 1982-Rolando Navarrete v Chung Il Choi - WBC 130 Controversy in boxing is nothing new and in early 1982 we saw a lot of controversy in a WBC Super Featherweight title fight between Filipino Rolando Navarrete, the then champion, and Korean fighter Chung Il Choi. The controversy occurred in round 5, when Choi knocked the champion down before an early bell caused a clear protest from the Korean's team. Sadly for Choi he would come up short, losing by stoppage in the 11th round whilst leading on 2 cards. By the end he was tired and looking ragged, having also been dropped in round 10, as Navarrete's experience proved to be the difference. Choi would fight just twice more, losing in a second world title fight to Rafael Limon later the same year before retiring with a record of 14-2 (13). Navarrete on the other hand would fight on until 1991, racking up a record of 56-15-3 (33).Unfortunately for the Filipino he would lose the belt to the aforementioned Limon just months after this fight. 1959-Sadao Yaoita upsets Pascual Perez One of the biggest upsets on Japanese soil, ever, saw 23 year old Sadao Yaoita, then 27-6-2 (1) upset the legendary Pascual Perez of Argentina. Perez, then 51-0-1 (37), was the world Flyweight champion, having held the title since 1954, he was an Olympic gold medal winner, he had won the world title in Japan beating Yoshio Shirai, he had beaten everyone he had faced and was seen as a true world champion, travelling the length of the globe to fight notable contenders. Despite being the under-dog Yaoita out pointed Perez in a non-title bout over 10 rounds, giving Perez his first professional loss. Sadly for the Japanese fighter a rematch wouldn't end as well for him, with Perez scoring a 13th round KO over the Japanese fighter less than 10 months later. Perez was dropped early but would rally to stop the Japanese challenger in what was a very competitive match up through the first 12 rounds. Perez would then lose back to back fights to Pone Kingpetch, with Kingpetch becoming the first Thai world champion as a result. The diminutive Perez would fight on until 1964 and run up a record of 84-7-1 (57). Yaoita on the other hand would rack up a 53-11-2 (7) record before ending his career in 1962, sadly he would never get another world title fight. 2012-Michael Dasmarinas debut
On this day in 2012 Filipino fighter Michael Dasmarinas, now a leading Bantamweight contender, made his professional debut. The bout saw Dasmarinas beating Wilmar Pragata in Lipa City with a close 4 round decision in a bout at Light Flyweight. Since then Dasmarinas has matured into a strong and powerful Bantamweight, winning the IBO title in 2018. At the time of writing he is set for an IBF world title eliminator. 2011-Albert Pagara debut Interestingly 1 year before Dasmarinas' debut another notable Filipino made his professional debut, this time Albert Pagara. A then 16 year old Pagara stopped Sandy Cajil in 2 rounds in Cebu City as he looked to build on his supposedly amazing amateur record. So far Pagara has shown glimpses of being a very special talent, but did sadly fall short in his big step up, losing to Cesar Juarez in 2016. At the time of writing he seems to be rebuilding well and in 2019 we're hoping to see Pagara take a big step up in class once again. 1977-Saensak Munagsurin retains against Monroe Brooks Thai legend Saensak Muangsurin only had a short boxing career, with 20 career bouts. That career was however a remarkable one. In just his third bout Muangsurin claimed the WBC Light Welterweight title, and in his 7th bout he became a 2-time champion. Muangsurin's 1st defense of his second reign came on this day in 1977, when he took on American challenger Monroe Brooks. The bout saw Muangsurin being dropped in round 3, before battling back to stop the American in the 15th round, with just over a minute of the bout remaining. Sadly for Muangsurin his career would end in 1981, when he retired with a record of 14-6 (11). By the time of his retirement Muangsurin was suffering with various health issues that effected him though to the end of his life, in 2009. 1966-Pichit Sithbanprachan's birthday We'd also like to wish former IBF Flyweight champion Pichit Sithbanprachan a happy birthday! The often forgotten Thai hld the IBF Flyweight title from 1992, when he stopped Rodolfo Blanco, through to 1994, when he announced his retirement with 5 defenses under his belt. He would later go on to make two comebacks before walking away from the sport for good with a record of 24-0 (18). Born Supap Hanwichachai, Pichit was a very strong fighter who scored notable wins over Blanco, Dan Nietes, Kyung Yung Lee, Arthur Johnson and Jose Luis Zepeda. His style wasn't suited to a long career however and his prime was over before his 28 birthday, explaining why he originally retired so young. 2017-Kyotaro Fujimoto claims OPBF Heavyweight title!
Even now it's hard to think of Japanese fighters having success at Heavyweight, though Kyotaro Fujimoto has been an exception to all logic. On this day in 2017 he defeated Willie Nasio to claim the OPBF title, becoming the first Japanese fighter to unify the Japanese and OPBF Heavyweight titles, before later adding the WBO Asia Pacific title to his collection. Since winning the OPBF title Fujimoto has recorded 4 defenses of the title, become a triple champion and edged towards a potential world title fight. Nasio on the other hand has gone 2-1 since this loss and claimed an Australian state title. Interestingly on the same show Takeshi Inoue began his rapid rise through the ranks with a then career best win over Akinori Watanabe, and by the end of the year he had unified the Japanese, OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific Light Middleweight titles. 2012 -Wandee Singwancha score final career win Thailand's Wandee Singwancha, also known as On Doowiset, fought between 1994 and 2013, facing a who's who of the Asian during his long career. Sadly his career ended with 3 losses, and his last win was over a year removed from his final bout, and was a low key one against fellow Thai Truperjames Sithdajin. Followinf the win over Truperjames on this day in 2012 Wandee would suffer losses to YushinTanaka, Shinichiro Morikawa and Rex Tso, retiring after the Tso loss with a record of 67-17-1 (18). During his 85 fight career Wandee would travel the world, fighting in Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, England, Philippines and Hong Kong before retiring at the age of 33. 1968-Leo Espinosa fights for the final time Although Filipino fighter Leo Espinosa failed to win a world title, coming up short in 3 world title bouts, his career was a genuinely notable one. He scored wins over Yoshio Shirai and Pone Kingpetch, was a 3 time OPBF Bantamweight champion and compiled an excellent 64-28-3 (8) record. Espinosa's career began in 1948 and ended around 20 years later. During his 95 fight career he faced a who's who, battling the likes of Pascual Perez , Raul Macias, Pone Kingpetch, Sadao Yaoita and Eder Jofre. Whilst Leo failed at world level his nephew Luisito Espinosa did become a 2-weight champion. 2003-Sirmongkol Singwancha defeats Yong Soo Choi to retain WBC crown!
The career of both Sirimongkol Singwancha and Yong Soo Choi have been, strange to say the least, and it should really be no surprise that the two crossed over at some point, as they did on January 13th 2003. Sirimongkol turned professional in 1994, and last fought in September 2018, yes he had a 24 year career, during which he moved from Flyweight to Light Heavyweight, winning the WBC Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight titles. Choi on the other hand debuted in 1990 and last fought in Februar 2017, a 27 year career! Like Sirimongkol the Korean was a top Super Featherweight, holding the WBA title for almost 4 years back in the 1990's. In 2003 they clashed, at the Korakuen Hall with Sirimongkol taking a clear decision win over the Korean, in what would be Choi's last bout for 13 years, before start a strange comeback in 2016. Interestingly this would be Sirimongkol's last successful defense of the title, as he lost it just 7 months later to Jesus Chavez, before moving through the weights and fighting in weight classes he should never have been in. Choi's record, at the time of writing, is 31-4-1 (21) whilst Sirimongkol has notched up 100 fights, with a record of 96-4 (61). 1996-Hi Yong Choi loses WBA title to Carlos Murillo On this day in 1996 Korean fighter Hi Yong Choi lost the WBA Light Flyweight title to Panama's Carlos Murrillo. At the time was having his second reign as a world champion, having taken the belt from Hiroki Ioka in February 1995, but it would end with a clear decision loss to Murillo, and it seemed clear that Choi wasn't the fighter he had once been. Murrillo's reign was a short one. He successfully defended the belt once before losing it to former Choi foe Keiji Yamaguchi in May 1996. Murrillo would lose again to Yamaguchi in a rematch and round in the mid 00's with a record of 38-11-1 (29), going 5-9-1 (2) following his win over Choi. The loss sent Choi into retirement at the age of 32, which in fairness is pretty old for a smaller fighter. Upon retirement Choi had a record of 19-2 (8), had held the WBA titles at Minimumweight and Light Flyweight and gone 7-2 (2) in world title fights. 1990-In Chul Baek defeats Yoshiaki Tajima to retain When we think of the great Korean punchers few challenge In Chul Baek, who had an 86% KO rate when he retired. His final win, and final successful defense of the WBA Super Middleweight title, came on this day in 1990, when he stopped Japanese challenger Yoshiaki Tajima. Tajima was a pretty unfit challenger to take on Baek, with a record of 9-4-1 (5). Much of Tajima's career had come at Middleweight, where he had won the Japanese and OPBF titles, but was taking a huge step up in class to take on the 46-2 (42) Baek. To his credit Tajima proved to be tough, but end up retiring after round 7 to give Baek his second defense of the title. For Tajima this would be the end of his career and he would retire 9-5-1 (5), and it would also be his sole stoppage loss. Baek on the other hand would fight once more, losing the title to French fighter Christophe Tiozzo less than 3 months after his bout with Tajima. After losing he too would retire, with a record of 47-3 (43) 1993-Morris East's reign ends
One of the forgotten names of Filipino boxing is Morris East, who was a real prodigy in the late 1980's and early 1990's. That is despite the fact that East is the youngest ever Filipino world champion, having won the WBC Light Welterweight title in 1992, whilst still a teenager. He won the title with an 11th round TKO win over Akinobu Hiranaka, in what was the Ring Magazine KO of the Year. Sadly though his reign came to an end on this day in 1993, when he was stopped by Jean Martin Coggi in Argentina. Sadly after his title loss East would never have the same success, going 4-2, being suspended by the GAB and then retiring in his early 20's with a record of 20-4 (12). He would later go on to be a trainer, and work with several notable fighters. Whilst East retired young Coggi would make numerous defenses, before losing the title to Frankie Randall in 1994. He would reclaim it from Randall in 1996, lose it in a rubber match to Randall and retire in 1999, in his late 30's, with a record of 75-5-2 (44). 1991- Naoto Takahashi's last bout A huge personal favourite of ours is Naoto Takahashi, a man we will look to talk about as much as possible. Sadly his career ended on this day in 1991 after a bout with Korean foe Jong Pil Park. The bout ended with Takahashi suffering a 9th round KO loss, and suffering a brain bleed as a result. He went down in the 9th round in awful way, was stretchered from the ring and in the end he was lucky to receive the medical treatment needed to save his life. Takahashi is still alive, but is a long way removed from what he was as a sighter. The injury still has major negative effects on his life and sadly he was only 23 when the injury occurred. Takahashi's record after this bout was 19-4 (14), during his career he had been one of the most exciting fighters in the sport, but the excitement and wars he had been involved in certainly helped lead to the injury he suffered here. As for Park he would go 3-1-1 (1) before retiring in 1993 with a record of 21-3-1 (8) 1963-Pone Kingpetch gets revenge over Japanese legend In 1963 we saw Asian legends clash, for the second time in just over 3 months. In October 1962 Japan's Fighting Harada, one of the most significant Japanese fighters ever, stopped Pone Kingpetch in 11 rounds to become the World Flyweight champion. On January 12th 1963 the two men would rematch with Kingpetch taking a majority decision to reclaim the title, and begin his second reign. Interestingly Kingpetch's reign was a short one, losing in his first defense to Hiroyuki Ebihara before reclaiming the title in a rematch against Ebihara. He would retire in 1966, with a record of 28-7 (9) and sadly passed away at the age of 47. He is still remembered as Thai boxing icon, and their first ever world champion. Harada would go on to secure his legacy over the years that followed, retiring in 1970 after a second failed attempt at claiming the WBC Featherweight title. During his career he would win no only the Flyweight title but also the Bantamweight crown, twice beating the legendary Eder Jofre. He would retire with a record of 55-7 (22), and is still a key figure in Japanese boxing at the age of 76. |
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