Fighting Harada


Masahiko Harada, 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.
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. 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.

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.
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. Jofre was undefeated in fifty fights coming into this bout, and considered by many of his fans to be invincible.
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 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, 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.
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.
Harada led a rather quiet life after retirement. In 1996, he was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York. 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.
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.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
63 Loss56–7Johnny FamechonKO14, 1:091970-01-06Metropolitan Gymnasium, Tokyo, JapanFor WBC featherweight title
62 Win56–6Pat GonzalesKO8, 0:171969-10-01Fukui, Fukui, Japan
61 Loss55–6Johnny FamechonPTS151969-07-28Sydney Stadium, Sydney, AustraliaFor WBC featherweight title
60 Win55–5Vil TumulakUD101969-06-04Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
59 Loss54–5Alton ColterSD101969-04-02Tokyo, Japan
58 Win54–4Roy AmolongKO2, 1:551968-12-04Tokyo, Japan
57 Win53–4Nobuo ChibaKO7, 1:131968-09-04Sano, Tochigi, Japan
56 Win52–4Dwight HawkinsUD101968-06-05Tokyo, Japan
55 Loss51–4Lionel RoseUD151968-02-27Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, JapanLost WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
54 Win51–3Soo Bok KwonKO8, 0:261967-11-28Okayama City, Okayama, Japan
53 Win50–3Hajime TarouraKO2, 1:521967-09-25Osaka, Osaka, Japan
52 Win49–3Bernardo CaraballoUD151967-07-04Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
51 Win48–3Tiny PalacioUD121967-04-04Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan
50 Win47–3José MedelUD151967-01-03Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, Aichi, JapanRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
49 Win46–3Antonio HerreraUD121966-10-25Osaka, Osaka, Japan
48 Win45–3Dio EspinosaUD101966-08-01Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
47 Win44–3Éder JofreUD151966-05-31Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
46 Win43–3Soo Kang SuhPTS121966-02-15Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
45 Win42–3Alan RudkinUD151965-11-30Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
44 Win41–3Katsuo SaitoPTS121965-07-28 Tokyo, Japan
43 Win40–3Éder JofreSD151965-05-18Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, Aichi, JapanWon WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
42 Win39–3Toru NakamuraKO21965-03-04
41 Win38–3Dommy FroilanKO6, 1:201965-01-04 Tokyo, Japan
40 Win37–3Katsutoshi AokiKO3, 2:541964-10-29 Tokyo, Japan
39 Win36–3Oscar ReyesPTS101964-09-17 Tokyo, Japan
38 Win35–3Ray AsisUD101964-07-06Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
37 Win34–3Somsak LaemfaphaKO2, 1:051964-02-14Osaka, Osaka, Japan
36 Win33–3Avelino EstradaKO5, 0:511964-01-02 Tokyo, Japan
35 Win32–3Emile de LeonPTS101963-11-25 Tokyo, Japan
34 Loss31–3José MedelTKO6, 2:281963-09-26 Tokyo, Japan
33 Win31–2Dommy BalajadaUD101963-08-07 Tokyo, Japan
32 Win30–2Thira LodjarengabeRTD6, 3:001963-06-19Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
31 Win29–2Jose CejudaKO1, 0:281963-05-04Naha, Okinawa, Japan
30 Win28–2Tetsuro KawaiUD101963-03-21 Tokyo, Japan
29 Loss27–2Pone KingpetchMD151963-01-12National Stadium Gymnasium, Bangkok, ThailandLost NYSAC, WBA and The Ring flyweight titles
28 Win27–1Pone KingpetchKO11, 2:501962-10-10Kokugikan, Tokyo, JapanWon NYSAC, WBA, and The Ring flyweight titles
27 Win26–1Little RufeUD101962-07-23 Tokyo, Japan
26 Loss25–1Edmundo EsparzaSD101962-06-14 Tokyo, Japan
25 Win25–0Baby EspinosaPTS101962-05-03 Korakuen Gym, Tokyo, Japan
24 Win24–0Tadao KawamuraUD101962-03-18 Tokyo, Japan
23 Win23–0Kozo NagataUD101962-01-12 Tokyo, Japan
22 Win22–0Ryoji ShiratoriKO6, 1:121961-12-10Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
21 Win21–0Akio MakiUD101961-10-09Osaka, Osaka, Japan
20 Win20–0Sombang BanbungKO3, 2:371961-09-09 Tokyo, Japan
19 Win19–0Akio MakiRTD8, 3:001961-07-31 Tokyo, Japan
18 Win18–0Shigeru ItoUD101961-06-19 Tokyo, Japan
17 Win17–0Ray PerezUD101961-05-01 Tokyo, Japan
16 Win16–0Yasuo FujitaUD61961-03-05 Tokyo, Japan
15 Win15–0Riichi TanakaUD61961-01-28 Tokyo, Japan
14 Win14–0Tsuyoshi NakamuraUD61961-01-05 Tokyo, Japan
13 Win13–0Hiroyuki EbiharaPTS61960-12-24 Tokyo, Japan
12 Win12–0Yoshinori HikitaKO3, 1:441960-12-11 Tokyo, Japan
11 Win11–0Hachiro AraiUD41960-11-07 Tokyo, Japan
10 Win10–0Sadayoshi YoshidaKO4, 1:021960-10-28 Tokyo, Japan
9 Win9–0Yukio SuzukiUD41960-09-01 Tokyo, Japan
8 Win8–0Masaru KodangiRTD3, 3:001960-07-18 Tokyo, Japan
7 Win7–0Kazuo MoritaKO1, 1:251960-06-24Shinagawa Hall, Tokyo, Japan
6 Win6–0Masatake OguraTKO3, 2:161960-06-10 Tokyo, Japan
5 Win5–0Ken MoritaUD41960-04-13 Tokyo, Japan
4 Win4–0Yuichi NoguchiUD41960-04-04 Tokyo, Japan
3 Win3–0Goro IwamotoKO3, 2:531960-03-27Asakusa Hall, Tokyo, Japan
2 Win2–0Mitsuo MotohashiSD41960-03-02Tokyo, Japan
1 Win1–0Isami MasuiTKO4, 2:201960-02-21Tokyo, Japan