Champion Carnival
Unlike almost every other country in boxing Japan has some real structure to it's boxing calender. By that we don't just mean one or two events, for example the Mexican holiday events held in North American, or a calender than runs counter intuitively in a "season" like in the UK, but instead holds a series of almost annual series, events and tournaments.
Of course the most notable of the tournaments is the annual Rookie of the Year, which runs through much of the year with the finals in December. Another is the Champion Carnival, which takes place in the first half of the year following on from some related bouts at the end of the previous year.
The basis behind the Champion Carnival is to have the champions facing the top challengers, in what are essentially mandatory title defenses by the champions, and are a key part of the Japanese boxing year.
The Champion Carnival was first held in 1977, and despite having a number of changes done over the years the principle is essentially the same. The national champion will always defend their title against a highly ranked challenger, and where the title is vacant to top domestic fighters will vie for it.
Of course the most notable of the tournaments is the annual Rookie of the Year, which runs through much of the year with the finals in December. Another is the Champion Carnival, which takes place in the first half of the year following on from some related bouts at the end of the previous year.
The basis behind the Champion Carnival is to have the champions facing the top challengers, in what are essentially mandatory title defenses by the champions, and are a key part of the Japanese boxing year.
The Champion Carnival was first held in 1977, and despite having a number of changes done over the years the principle is essentially the same. The national champion will always defend their title against a highly ranked challenger, and where the title is vacant to top domestic fighters will vie for it.
Who Competes?
The Japanese champion at each weight will defend their belt during the first half of the year, with the challenger for the title decided the previous year.
Typically the challenger will get their shot due to either being the interim champion as the year ends, being the #1 fighter without needing an eliminator, or more often in recent years, by winning an eliminator.
The nature of the eliminators has been experimented with over the years, including the popular Strongest Korakuen tournaments which featured 4 men in selected weights in a straight tournament with the winners getting a title shot. The last couple of years however the eliminators have just been a straight shoot out between two highly ranked fighters, usually the #1 ranked fighter against either #2 or #3 ranked fight, though their is some flexibility on the specifics for the eliminators.
Not every division will have an eliminator every year, in 2019 for example there will not be an eliminator at Middleweight and instead Riku Kunimoto will be fighting for a title without an eliminator. In 2018 there was no Featherweight eliminator, and Reiya Abe went into a title fight in 2019 as a result
Typically the challenger will get their shot due to either being the interim champion as the year ends, being the #1 fighter without needing an eliminator, or more often in recent years, by winning an eliminator.
The nature of the eliminators has been experimented with over the years, including the popular Strongest Korakuen tournaments which featured 4 men in selected weights in a straight tournament with the winners getting a title shot. The last couple of years however the eliminators have just been a straight shoot out between two highly ranked fighters, usually the #1 ranked fighter against either #2 or #3 ranked fight, though their is some flexibility on the specifics for the eliminators.
Not every division will have an eliminator every year, in 2019 for example there will not be an eliminator at Middleweight and instead Riku Kunimoto will be fighting for a title without an eliminator. In 2018 there was no Featherweight eliminator, and Reiya Abe went into a title fight in 2019 as a result
Wait, are these all on the same show?
The bouts aren't all on the same show.
The eliminators for the title bouts take place over the last part of the year, in 2019 they have been spread between September and December, and take place across the country. Despite that there are some eliminators that take place on the same show, with a number set to take place on October 26th this year, and 6 took place on October 12th 2018.
Likewise the Champion Carnival bouts themselves are spread through the first part of the year, with the final bouts typically taking place in May. Of course a promoter can double up and put two bouts on the same show if they wish, but it's relatively rare.
The eliminators for the title bouts take place over the last part of the year, in 2019 they have been spread between September and December, and take place across the country. Despite that there are some eliminators that take place on the same show, with a number set to take place on October 26th this year, and 6 took place on October 12th 2018.
Likewise the Champion Carnival bouts themselves are spread through the first part of the year, with the final bouts typically taking place in May. Of course a promoter can double up and put two bouts on the same show if they wish, but it's relatively rare.
What if a champion vacates?
If the champion vacates before the Champion Carnival is decided a similar situation occurs, where the challenger fights for the vacant title. Whilst it's rare for a Japanese fighter to vacate a title after the start of a new year but before their Champion Carnival bout, the fighter who would have challenged fights for the vacant title against a highly ranked contender.
A notable recent occurrence of this was when Kenshiro vacated his Light Flyweight title rather than defend against Tetsuya Hisada, this was due to Kenshiro getting the chance to fight for the WBC title. as a result Hisada clashed with Kenichi Horikawa, who was ranked #2 at the time.
A notable recent occurrence of this was when Kenshiro vacated his Light Flyweight title rather than defend against Tetsuya Hisada, this was due to Kenshiro getting the chance to fight for the WBC title. as a result Hisada clashed with Kenichi Horikawa, who was ranked #2 at the time.
What if a challenger decides not to take their opportunity?
This happens really rarely, but did happen in 2018 when Yasutaka Ishimoto retired rather than challenged for the Japanese Super Bantamweight title. As a result a different challenger, in this case Ryo Kosaka, was made the mandatory.
What's in it for those who compete?
Obviously there's a title fight in it for the challenger, and if the champion doesn't compete they will be stripped of their title, but there is more to it than just a title fight with awards up for grabs for the MVP, Fighting Spirit, Skills and a Special, with those awards coming with cash prizes.
What were some great Champion Carnival bouts?
Takanori Hatakeyama vs Koji Arisawa
Tadashi Yuba Vs Carlos Linares
Yota Sato Vs Kohei Kono
Shinsuke Yamanaka Vs Ryosuke Iwasa
Tadashi Yuba Vs Carlos Linares
Yota Sato Vs Kohei Kono
Shinsuke Yamanaka Vs Ryosuke Iwasa
