Akinobu Hiranaka (平仲明信, born Nobuaki Hiranaka, on November 14, 1963) is a former world champion boxer in the

Light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

(

Super lightweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

or former

Junior welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

) division. He won the WBA Junior Welterweight championship of the world in 1992, and competed at the

1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. He is one of the few Japanese champions that lacked financial backing from large gyms or television companies, and he had to personally negotiate with opponents to land a shot at the world title.

Amateur career

Hiranaka won an amateur boxing tournament in high school, training at the local

Ryukyu The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...

boxing gym. He continued boxing at Nippon University, and fought in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics while attending (he lost in the second round). He had a successful amateur career, making 37 of his 43 wins by knockout.

Olympic results

Welterweight (– 67 kg), 1984 *1st round bye *Lost to Genaro Leon (Mexico) 0-5

Professional career

Hiranaka's success in the amateur ring made him one of Japan's best prospects in the

light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

division. He won the Japanese light welterweight title in only his fourth professional fight, knocking out his opponent in the 6th round. Hiranaka became the WBA's top-ranked fighter in the light welterweight division, but lack of financial support made it difficult for him to challenge the world title. He had to defend the Japanese light welterweight title 9 times before finally getting a fight at the world stage. Hiranaka challenged Juan Martin Coggi of

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on April 29, 1989, for the WBA title. Hiranaka knocked Coggi down twice in the third round. However, Hiranaka lost by a decision for the first loss of his career. This match was controversial for the decision with excessive favor to the Italian-Argentine boxer Coggi, while Coggi was knocked down by Hiranaka. Even after losing, Hiranaka retained his world ranking, and waited for another chance for the world title. However, Hiranaka spent three years without a title match, and did not fight at all in 1990. Hiranaka finally got his second chance in April 1992, fighting in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

against Puerto Rican world champion,

Edwin Rosario Edwin "Chapo" Rosario Rivera (; March 15, 1963 – December 1, 1997) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1997. He was a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC lightweight title from 1983 to 1984, ...

. Hiranaka surprised onlookers by knocking out the champion only 92 seconds into the first round. He immediately pinned the champion against the ropes, and landed a furious array of punches, until the referee saw that the champion

had been knocked unconscious while standing up. This fight remains as the shortest world title match in the light welterweight division. Despite making an epic entrance onto the world stage, Hiranaka lost his title after only five months to Morris East from the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Hiranaka had led the fight going into the 11th round, but was knocked out in an unexpected blow from the challenger. This knockout was named the 1992

Ring Magazine ''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into questio ...

Knockout of the Year '' The Ring'' magazine was established in 1922 and has named a Knockout of the Year since 1989, based on the magazine's writers' criteria. Knockouts of the Year by decade 1980s * 1989: Michael Nunn ''KO 1'' Sumbu Kalambay see Michael Nunn v ...

. Hiranaka was diagnosed with an

intracranial hemorrhage Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) refers to any form of Hemorrhage, bleeding Internal bleeding, within the Human skull, skull. It can result from trauma, vascular abnormalities, hypertension, or other medical conditions. ICH is broadly categorized ...

after the fight, and was forced into retirement. His record was 20-2-0 (18KOs). He also has the highest KO percentage of any Japanese world champion boxer (90%).

Professional boxing record

Post retirement

He now runs the Hiranaka Boxing School Gym in

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

, and has taught boxing at Seido Kaikan. Deceased

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...

champion

Andy Hug Andreas "Andy" Hug (7 September 1964 – 24 August 2000) was a Swiss karateka and kickboxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time, Hug was renowned for his ability to ex ...

trained at Hiranaka's gym in Okinawa before the K-1 Grand Prix tournament.

References

External links

* *
Hiranaka Boxing School Gym
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiranaka, Akinobu 1963 births Living people Japanese male boxers People from Yaese, Okinawa Okinawan martial artists Olympic boxers for Japan Boxers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Boxing trainers World light-welterweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions Boxers at the 1982 Asian Games 20th-century Japanese sportsmen