is a Japanese former professional boxer from
Saitama. He is a former
WBA featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Boxing
Professional boxing
History
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...
champion.
Biography
Saijo made his professional debut in August, 1964, but did not show immediate promise in the ring, losing or drawing against several lowly regarded fighters. He traveled to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, where he fought three times before meeting
WBA featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Boxing
Professional boxing
History
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...
champion
Raul Rojas in a non-title match. Saijo won by decision, and challenged Rojas for the title on September 27, 1968 in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. He defeated Rojas for the second time, becoming the seventh Japanese boxer to win a world title, and the first Japanese boxer to win a title fighting outside Japan.
He defended the title a total of six times before losing to
Antonio Gomez in 1971. He also fought in numerous non-title matches in between his defenses, including a bout against
WBA super featherweight
Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and .
The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New ...
champion,
Hiroshi Kobayashi, where Saijo lost by decision over 10 rounds. This was the first fight between two Japanese boxers that had possession of the world title.
Saijo retired from boxing after losing his world title, but made an ill-fated debut in the
kickboxing
Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...
world, where he fought
muay thai
Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...
champion
Toshio Fujiwara. Saijo disappointed fans by turning his back towards Fujiwara at one point in their match, and he retired from all sports activities shortly afterwards. His professional boxing record was 29-7-2 (8KOs).
See also
*
List of featherweight boxing champions
*
List of Japanese boxing world champions
This is a list of Japanese boxing world champions who have won major world titles from the "Big four" Sports governing body, governing bodies in professional boxing namely the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC), Internation ...
*
Boxing in Japan
The history of boxing in Japan began in 1854 when Matthew Perry landed at Shimoda, Shizuoka soon after the Convention of Kanagawa. At that time, American sailors often engaged in sparring matches on board their ships, with their fists wrapped i ...
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saijo, Shozo
1947 births
Featherweight boxers
Living people
World Boxing Association champions
World featherweight boxing champions
Japanese male boxers
Sportspeople from Saitama (city)
Martial artists from Saitama Prefecture
20th-century Japanese sportsmen