Katsushige Kawashima


Katsushige Kawashima is a Japanese retired professional boxer who fought in the super flyweight division. He is a former WBC and lineal super flyweight champion.

Biography

Kawashima joined the boxing gym of former WBC and WBA minimumweight champion Hideyuki Ohashi in 1995, and made his professional debut on February 20, 1997, with a 2nd round knockout victory. He lost a 6-round decision in only his 6th professional fight, but steadily compiled wins to challenge Jesse Maca for the OPBF super flyweight title on December 11, 2000. The bout resulted in a 12-round unanimous decision loss for Kawashima.
Kawashima first entered the WBC rankings in 2001 with a 10-round decision victory over former WBA super flyweight champion Yokthai Sithoar. He challenged the Japanese super flyweight title the following year, and won his first title by split decision over 10 rounds. He defended the title once before returning it.
On June 23, 2003, Kawashima got his first shot at a world title against WBC and lineal super flyweight champion Masamori Tokuyama, but lost by unanimous decision over 12 rounds. He challenged Tokuyama for the second time a year later on June 28, 2004, and scored a surprising 1st round knockout only 1 minute and 47 seconds into the bout to win the super flyweight crown. Tokuyama had defended the title 9 times before this loss.
Kawashima scored three knockdowns en route to a unanimous decision victory in his first world title defense on September 20, 2004. On January 3, 2005, he fought undefeated Jose Navarro for his second defense, and won a controversial split decision to retain his title. One judge had scored 11 of 12 rounds in favor of Navarro, while the other two scored it closely in favor of Kawashima, who was cut over both eyes for most of the fight.
Kawashima met Masamori Tokuyama for the third time on July 18, 2005, for his third defense of the world title. Kawashima managed to knockdown Tokuyama in the 12th round, but was unable to mount a consistent offense for the rest of the fight as Tokuyama regained his title by unanimous decision.
On September 18, 2006, Kawashima fought Cristian Mijares for the WBC super flyweight interim title. He managed to knock down his opponent in the 2nd round, but lost a close split decision where two judges scored the fight for Mijares by only one point, and the other judge scored the fight for Kawashima also by one point. He announced his retirement shortly afterwards, but retracted it on October 19, 2006, when a rematch was organized against Mijares, who had recently been promoted to the regular champion after the retirement of Masamori Tokuyama. The rematch was held on January 3, 2007, and Kawashima lost by technical knockout in the tenth round after suffering a knockdown which was regarded as a slip by the referee. This was the first time Kawashima had been knocked out in his entire career.
Kawashima announced his retirement for the second time after the second loss to Mijares, but returned to the ring with a 3rd round knockout win on June 4, 2007. He challenged WBA super flyweight champion Alexander Muñoz as the 7th ranked contender to the title on January 14, 2008, but lost a unanimous decision where he was almost knocked out in the 11th round. He announced his retirement for the third time after the fight. His professional record was 32-7-0.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound,
time		DateAgeLocationNotes
39Loss32–7Alexander MuñozUD12Jan 14, 2008Bunka Gym, Yokohama, Tokyo, JapanFor WBA super flyweight title
38Win32–6Adi WigunaUD10Sep 5, 2007Bunka Gym, Yokohama, Tokyo, Japan
37Win31–6Jae Sung MyungKO3, 1:39Jun 4, 2007Ariake Colosseum, Tokyo, Japan
36Loss30–6Cristian MijaresTKO10, 1:05Jan 3, 2007Ariake Colosseum, Tokyo, JapanFor WBC super flyweight title
35Loss30–5Cristian MijaresSD12Sep 18, 2006Pacifico, Yokohama, Kanagawa, JapanFor WBC interim super flyweight title
34Win30–4Jae Choon MoonTKO8, 2:22Apr 3, 2006Bunka Gym, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
33Win29–4Petchklongphai Sor ThantipTKO5, 2:21Jan 9, 2006Pacifico, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
32Loss28–4Masamori TokuyamaUD12Jul 18, 2005Central Gym, Osaka, Osaka, JapanLost WBC super flyweight title
31Win28–3José NavarroSD12Jan 3, 2005Ariake Colosseum, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBC super flyweight title
30Win27–3Raul JuarezUD12Sep 20, 2004Bunka Gym, Yokohama, Kanagawa, JapanRetained WBC super flyweight title
29Win26–3Masamori TokuyamaTKO1, 1:47Jun 28, 2004Arena, Yokohama, Kanagawa, JapanWon WBC super flyweight title
28Win25–3Den SithnaruepolKO2, 1:23Jan 15, 2004Bunka Gym, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
27Win24–3Ho Sub NohUD10Oct 18, 2003Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
26Loss23–3Masamori TokuyamaUD12Jun 23, 2003Arena, Yokohama, Kanagawa, JapanFor WBC super flyweight title
25Win23–2Sakmongkol SingmanasakKO2, 2:26Dec 18, 2002Bunka Gym, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
24Win22–2Yasutomo YukiTKO5, 2:34Jul 30, 2002Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese super flyweight title
23Win21–2Shingo SasakiSD10Apr 20, 2002Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanWon Japanese super flyweight title
22Win20–2Singhdam KiatwisakKO4, 2:04Dec 4, 2001Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
21Win19–2Yokthai SithoarUD10Aug 27, 2001Bunka Gym, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
20Win18–2Phonthep SatburanasinTKO2, 2:22Mar 27, 2001Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
19Loss17–2Jess MacaUD12Dec 11, 2000Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanFor OPBF bantamweight title
18Win17–1Arashi YanagawaTKO7, 2:50Oct 19, 2000Bunka Gym, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
17Win16–1Yuji NagaiUD10Jun 27, 2000Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
16Win15–1Sann SithnarupolKO2, 0:49Mar 23, 2000Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
15Win14–1Edwin GastadorKO3 Nov 2, 1999Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
14Win13–1Rolando DusaranKO4, 1:41Aug 3, 1999Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
13Win12–1Napa KiatwanchaiRTD5, 3:00Apr 28, 1999Bunka Gym, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
12Win11–1Jang Bok KimUD8Jan 30, 1999Bunka Gym, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
11Win10–1Masahide KanedaTKO6, 1:49Oct 23, 1998Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
10Win9–1Yoshikazu MatsushitaPTS5Jul 16, 1998Bunka Gym, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
9Win8–1Tsukasa KimuraKO3, 2:39Jun 22, 1998Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
8Win7–1Naoki KamataTKO3, 2:40May 8, 1998Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
7Win6–1Kenji SasakiKO1, 2:39Mar 24, 1998Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
6Loss5–1Hiroshi NakanoPTS6Dec 20, 1997Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
5Win5–0Hitoshi TakahashiPTS6Nov 8, 1997Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
4Win4–0Shigeru MorimotoKO4, 0:51Sep 30, 1997Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
3Win3–0Shohei KumePTS4Aug 4, 1997Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
2Win2–0Nobuhiko YoshidaKO2, 1:45May 30, 1997Sogo Department Store, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
1Win1–0Shinobu HiragaKO2, 1:10Feb 20, 1997Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan