US EditionDeaths could spell end for Japanese boxing, says commission chief
Deaths of two fighters after Tokyo bouts have led Japanese boxing authorities to consider safety reforms including stricter weight loss rules and dehydration tests, the commission said.
- On August 2, 2025, at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall, super featherweight Shigetoshi Kotari and lightweight Hiromasa Urakawa suffered brain injuries during separate bouts and died days later after surgery.
- Japanese boxing authorities say dehydration from rapid weight cutting is regarded as a factor increasing brain bleeding risk, with recent serious injuries including an amateur boxer last week.
- Yamato Hata remains critically injured, raising the prospect of a third death from the Aug 2 Tokyo card; the deaths follow earlier fatalities like Kazuki Anaguchi, deepening alarm as Prize Ring | TeikenBoxing faces a historic crisis.
- Japanese authorities launched an emergency review of medical and matchmaking standards and consider urine tests for dehydration plus stricter weight-loss rules to improve safety.
- Japan's warning echoes global concerns that the Japan Boxing Commission cautioned outlawing pugilism could trigger a domino effect, threatening the sport that produced stars like Naoya Inoue.
42 Articles
42 Articles
Tokyo, Japan.- Boxing could disappear in Japan if the Asian country does not apply the appropriate measures after the death of two pugs this month, declared the president of the national commission for this sport. Shigetoshi Kotari and Hiromasa Urakawa, both 28 years old, participated in two fights in the same evening held in Tokyo on 2 August and died days later after having been the two subjected to operations in the brain. Another boxer, Kazu…
Boxing could disappear in Japan if it didn't get its stuff back in order after two boxers died, according to a senior officer in the country.
After the death of two Japanese boxers at the same gala in Tokyo on 2 August, an investigation was opened and questions arose as to the danger of this sport.
Deaths could spell end for Japanese boxing
TOKYO — Japanese boxing is at "a crucial moment" and could cease to exist if it does not radically improve safety, the head of the country's boxing commission told Agence France-Presse ( AFP ) following the deaths of two fighters.
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