Fighting Harada

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Fighting Harada
Masahiko Harada 1968.jpg
Born
Masahiko Harada

(1943-04-05) April 5, 1943 (age 81)
Tokyo, Japan
Other namesFighting
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Reach64 in (163 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights63
Wins56
Wins by KO23
Losses7

Masahiko Harada (born April 5, 1943), better known as Fighting Harada, is a Japanese former professional boxer. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the NYSAC, WBA, and The Ring undisputed flyweight titles from 1962 to 1963 and the WBA, WBC, and The Ring undisputed bantamweight titles from 1965 and 1968. He is currently the president of the Japanese boxing association.

Contents

Harada was arguably one of Japan's most popular boxers; his fame reached international status, and Puerto Rico's Wilfredo Gómez declared that Harada was his idol as a child. [1] Harada was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995. In 2002, he was ranked as the 32nd greatest boxer of the past 80 years by Ring magazine. [2]

Biography

Harada began fighting as a professional on February 21, 1960, knocking out Isami Masui in round four, in Tokyo. He won his first twenty four bouts. Among the notables he beat during that span were Ken Morita, who later became a respected boxing official and who was beaten by Harada on June 26 in the first round, and future world champion Hiroyuki Ebihara, who was undefeated in nine fights before meeting Harada and who was beaten by Harada on December 24, by a decision in six rounds.

On June 15, 1962, he suffered his first defeat, being beaten on points by Edmundo Esparza over ten rounds in Tokyo.

After one more win, Harada received his first world title try: on October 10 of that year, he became the Lineal and WBA world flyweight champion by knocking out Pone Kingpetch in the eleventh round, in Tokyo. [3]

A rematch followed, and Harada lost the title in his first defense, being outpointed by Kingpetch over fifteen rounds on January 12, 1963 in Bangkok, Thailand. This was Harada's first fight outside Japan.

Harada posted four more wins in a row before losing by knockout in six to Jose Medel on September 26.

After that loss, Harada posted another winning streak, which reached seven before he was given another world title shot. Among the boxers he beat was top contenders Ray Asis, Oscar Reyes, and Katsutoshi Aoki.

On May 18, 1965, Harada extended his winning streak to eight, when he defeated Lineal, WBA and WBC bantamweight champion Eder Jofre in Nagoya, by a contested fifteen round decision, to win his second world title. [4] Jofre was undefeated in fifty fights coming into this bout, and considered by many of his fans to be invincible. [5]

On November 30, he defeated perennial British contender Alan Rudkin by a fifteen round decision to retain the title. On June 1, 1966, he and Jofre had a rematch in Tokyo, and Harada defeated Jofre in another dobious match, by a fifteen round decision. Losing for the second time to Harada prompted Jofre to retire; he would make a successful comeback three years later. Harada was the only boxer to beat Jofre.

After two more, non-title wins, Harada had a chance to avenge his defeat against Jose Medel. On January 3, 1967, Harada retained his world bantamweight title with a fifteen round decision over Medel in Nagoya.

On July 4 he retained the title against Colombian Bernardo Caraballo, a fighter who was well liked in his country. Harada outpointed him over fifteen rounds.

On February 27, 1968, Lionel Rose became the first Indigenous Australian to become a world boxing champion, when he outpointed Harada over fifteen rounds in Tokyo. Having lost his world bantamweight crown, Harada then set his sights on regaining it.

He won four of his next five fights. Among those he defeated were American Dwight Hawkins and his countryman Nobuo Chiba. His lone loss during that span came at the hands of American Alton Colter by a ten round, split decision. Then, he received another world title shot.

On July 28, 1969, after the WBA and WBC had split the world bantamweight title, Harada fought Australia's Johnny Famechon for the WBC world featherweight belt. The fight was held in Sydney, and the referee and only judge was the legendary former world featherweight champion Willie Pep. Pep scored the fight a tie (draw), but Famechon's fans rallied over the call by booing Pep, who then announced he had miscalculated his scorecard and actually had Famechon ahead, making Harada a loser by a fifteen round decision. This fight was, nevertheless, controversial because of the nature of its ending, and the WBC clamoured for a rematch. [6]

After a knockout win in eight rounds over Pat Gonzalez, the rematch came. Harada's management wanted the fight to be held in Tokyo, and so, on January 6, 1970, Harada and Famechon met once again, this time at Tokyo's Metropolitan Gym. Harada dropped the champion in round ten, but Famechon recovered, knocking Harada off the ring in round fourteen and retaining the title by knockout in that round. This was Harada's last fight as a professional. [7]

Harada led a rather quiet life after retirement. In 1996, he was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York. [8] Coincidentally, Wilfredo Gómez was inducted in the same ceremony. After Gómez expressed that Harada was his idol, Harada responded, using an interpreter, that Gómez had, in turn, become one of his favorite fighters as well. Eder Jofre, one of the boxers Harada beat to win world titles, is also enshrined at the IBHOF.

Masahiko Harada became president of the Japanese Boxing Commission in 2002.

On January 28, 2004, as he was driving home from his office, Harada experienced a headache and he was found to have a brain hemorrhage which required hospitalisation. By 2005 he was recovering steadily. [9]

On November 7, 2019 he presented the Muhammad Ali Trophy to Naoya Inoue after his victory over Nonito Donaire to win the 2018–19 World Boxing Super Series – bantamweight division tournament. [10]

Professional boxing record

63 fights56 wins7 losses
By knockout232
By decision335
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
63Loss56-7 Johnny Famechon KO14 (15), 1:091970-01-06 Metropolitan Gymnasium, Tokyo, JapanFor WBC featherweight title
62Win56-6Pat GonzalesKO8 (10), 0:171969-10-01 Fukui, Fukui, Japan
61Loss55-6 Johnny Famechon PTS151969-07-28 Sydney Stadium, Sydney, AustraliaFor WBC featherweight title
60Win55–5Vil TumulakUD101969-06-04 Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
59Loss54–5Alton ColterSD101969-04-02Tokyo, Japan
58Win54-4Roy AmolongKO2 (10), 1:551968-12-04Tokyo, Japan
57Win53-4Nobuo ChibaKO7 (10), 1:131968-09-04 Sano, Tochigi, Japan
56Win52-4Dwight HawkinsUD101968-06-05Tokyo, Japan
55Loss51-4 Lionel Rose UD151968-02-27 Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, JapanLost WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
54Win51-3Soo Bok KwonKO8 (12), 0:261967-11-28 Okayama City, Okayama, Japan
53Win50-3Hajime TarouraKO2 (12), 1:521967-09-25 Osaka, Osaka, Japan
52Win49-3 Bernardo Caraballo UD151967-07-04 Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
51Win48-3Tiny PalacioUD121967-04-04 Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan
50Win47-3 José Medel UD151967-01-03 Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, Aichi, JapanRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
49Win46-3Antonio HerreraUD121966-10-25 Osaka, Osaka, Japan
48Win45-3Dio EspinosaUD101966-08-01 Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
47Win44-3 Éder Jofre UD151966-05-31 Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
46Win43-3Soo Kang SuhPTS121966-02-15 Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
45Win42-3 Alan Rudkin UD151965-11-30 Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
44Win41-3Katsuo SaitoPTS121965-07-28 Tokyo, Japan
43Win40-3 Éder Jofre SD151965-05-18 Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, Aichi, JapanWon WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
42Win39-3Toru NakamuraKO2 (10), 2:031965-03-04 Tokyo, Japan
41Win38–3Dommy FroilanKO6 (10), 1:201965-01-04 Tokyo, Japan
40Win37–3Katsutoshi AokiKO3 (10), 2:541964-10-29 Tokyo, Japan
39Win36–3Oscar ReyesPTS101964-09-17 Tokyo, Japan
38Win35–3Ray AsisUD101964-07-06 Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
37Win34–3Somsak LaemfaphaKO2 (10), 1:051964-02-14 Osaka, Osaka, Japan
36Win33–3Avelino EstradaKO5 (10), 0:511964-01-02 Tokyo, Japan
35Win32–3Emile de LeonPTS101963-11-25 Tokyo, Japan
34Loss31–3 José Medel TKO6 (10), 2:281963-09-26 Tokyo, Japan
33Win31–2Dommy BalajadaUD101963-08-07 Tokyo, Japan
32Win30–2Thira LodjarengabeRTD6 (10), 3:001963-06-19 Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
31Win29–2Jose CejudaKO1 (10), 0:281963-05-04 Naha, Okinawa, Japan
30Win28–2Tetsuro KawaiUD101963-03-21 Tokyo, Japan
29Loss27–2 Pone Kingpetch MD151963-01-12 National Stadium Gymnasium, Bangkok, ThailandLost WBA and The Ring flyweight titles
28Win27–1 Pone Kingpetch KO11 (15), 2:501962-10-10 Kokugikan, Tokyo, JapanWon WBA and The Ring flyweight titles
27Win26–1Little RufeUD101962-07-23 Tokyo, Japan
26Loss25–1Edmundo EsparzaSD101962-06-14 Tokyo, Japan
25Win25–0Baby EspinosaPTS101962-05-03 Korakuen Gym, Tokyo, Japan
24Win24–0Tadao KawamuraUD101962-03-18 Tokyo, Japan
23Win23–0Kozo NagataUD101962-01-12 Tokyo, Japan
22Win22–0Ryoji ShiratoriKO6 (8), 1:121961-12-10 Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
21Win21–0Akio MakiUD101961-10-09 Osaka, Osaka, Japan
20Win20–0Sombang BanbungKO3 (10), 2:371961-09-09 Tokyo, Japan
19Win19–0Akio MakiRTD8 (10), 3:001961-07-31 Tokyo, Japan
18Win18–0Shigeru ItoUD101961-06-19 Tokyo, Japan
17Win17–0Ray PerezUD101961-05-01 Tokyo, Japan
16Win16–0Yasuo FujitaUD61961-03-05 Tokyo, Japan
15Win15–0Riichi TanakaUD61961-01-28 Tokyo, Japan
14Win14–0Tsuyoshi NakamuraUD61961-01-05 Tokyo, Japan
13Win13–0 Hiroyuki Ebihara PTS61960-12-24 Tokyo, Japan
12Win12–0Yoshinori HikitaKO3 (4), 1:441960-12-11 Tokyo, Japan
11Win11–0Hachiro AraiUD41960-11-07 Tokyo, Japan
10Win10–0Sadayoshi YoshidaKO4 (4), 1:021960-10-28 Tokyo, Japan
9Win9–0Yukio SuzukiUD41960-09-01 Tokyo, Japan
8Win8–0Masaru KodangiRTD3 (4), 3:001960-07-18 Tokyo, Japan
7Win7–0Kazuo MoritaKO1 (4), 1:251960-06-24 Shinagawa Hall, Tokyo, Japan
6Win6–0Masatake OguraTKO3 (4), 2:161960-06-10 Tokyo, Japan
5Win5–0Ken MoritaUD41960-04-13 Tokyo, Japan
4Win4–0Yuichi NoguchiUD41960-04-04 Tokyo, Japan
3Win3–0Goro IwamotoKO3 (4), 2:531960-03-27 Asakusa Hall, Tokyo, Japan
2Win2–0Mitsuo MotohashiSD41960-03-02Tokyo, Japan
1Win1–0Isami MasuiTKO4 (4), 2:201960-02-21Tokyo, Japan

See also

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References

  1. "Boxing in Japan | JapanVisitor Japan Travel Guide".
  2. "About.com: Boxing". Boxing.about.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  3. "Masahiko "Fighting" Harada – Lineal Flyweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  4. "Masahiko "Fighting" Harada – Lineal Bantamweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  5. "The Great Masahiko "Fighting" Harada". December 11, 2009.
  6. "Fight:23368 - BoxRec".
  7. "Johnny Famechon vs. Fighting Harada - BoxRec".
  8. "Masahiko (Fighting) Harada".
  9. "Fighting Harada Recovering Nicely. – Boxing News".
  10. "The Drama in Saitama! Inoue wins Ali Trophy after war with Donaire". World Boxing Super Series. November 7, 2019. Archived from the original on November 10, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
Sporting positions
World boxing titles
Preceded by NYSAC flyweight champion
October 10, 1962 – January 12, 1963
Succeeded by
Pone Kingpetch
WBA flyweight champion
October 10, 1962 – January 12, 1963
The Ring flyweight champion
October 10, 1962 – January 12, 1963
Undisputed flyweight champion
October 10, 1962 – January 12, 1963
Preceded by WBA bantamweight champion
May 18, 1965 – February 27, 1968
Succeeded by
WBC bantamweight champion
May 18, 1965 – February 27, 1968
The Ring bantamweight champion
May 18, 1965 – February 27, 1968
Undisputed bantamweight champion
May 18, 1965 – February 27, 1968