Koichi Wajima


Koichi Wajima is a Japanese former professional boxer who was the undisputed light-middleweight champion. He held the WBA and WBC titles from 1971 and 1974, he regained the titles in January 1975 that included The Ring title but lost it right away on June of the same year. He once again won the WBA and The Ring title in 1976.

Childhood and early career

Wajima was born in Karafuto, which became Soviet territory when Wajima was three years old. He and his family moved to Shibetsu, Hokkaidō, but barely managed to make a living, Wajima was put up for adoption. He lived with his stepfamily while his parents worked in Shibetsu.
Wajima began to work as a fisherman with his stepfamily. He was still in middle school, but had to work from sunset all the way to daybreak. The only time he had to sleep was during class. He was a fighter from a young age, having to work tirelessly each day, and often picking fights with other kids.
After graduating from middle school, he traveled to Tokyo, where he worked briefly as a truck driver before joining the Misako Boxing Gym. He made his professional debut in March, 1968, at the age of 25.

Professional career

Wajima captured the Japanese light-middleweight title in September, 1969. He defended the title 9 times before returning it. He got his first shot at the world title against Carmelo Bossi for the world light middleweight title on October 31, 1971, in Tokyo, winning by 15-round split decision to capture his first world title. He made his first defense in May, 1972, taking less than 2 minutes to knock out his opponent. He would defend the title a total of 6 times. He quickly became one of the most popular boxers in Japan for his peculiar "Frog Jump" uppercut punch.
He lost his 7th defense to Oscar Albarado in 1974 by KO in the 15th round. He got a rematch with Albarado 7 months later, on January 21, 1975, and managed to avenge his loss with a 15-round decision win to regain the Lineal, WBC and WBA titles. He was stripped of the WBC title in March, and lost to Jae-Doo Yuh to lose his Lineal and WBA light middleweight titles as well. However, he regained his Lineal and WBA titles in February, 1976, with a 15th-round KO over Yuh.
Wajima lost to Jose Manuel Duran in his first defense, losing the world title for the third time in his career. He fought his final match In June, 1977, challenging Eddie Gazo for the WBA super welterweight title, but lost by 11th-round KO. This was the last fight of his career. His record was 31-6-1.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
38LossEddie GazoTKO11, 0:45Jun 7, 1977Nihon Budokan, Tokyo, JapanFor WBA and The Ring light-middleweight titles
37Loss30–5–1Jose Manuel DuranKO14, 0:50May 18, 1976Nihon University, Tokyo, JapanLost WBA and The Ring light-middleweight titles
36Win30–4–1Yuh Jae-DooKO15, 1:47Feb 17, 1976Nihon University, Tokyo, JapanWon WBA and The Ring light-middleweight titles
35Loss29–4–1Yuh Jae-DooKO7, 2:04Jun 7, 1975City Sogo Gym, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, JapanLost WBA and The Ring light-middleweight titles
34Win29–3–1Oscar AlbaradoUD15Jan 21, 1975Nihon University, Tokyo, JapanWon WBA, WBC, and The Ring light-middleweight titles
33Loss28–3–1Oscar AlbaradoKO15, 1:57Jun 4, 1974Nihon University, Tokyo, JapanLost WBA and WBC light-middleweight titles;
For inaugural The Ring light-middleweight title
32Win28–2–1Miguel de OliveiraMD15Feb 5, 1974Metropolitan Gym, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBA and WBC light-middleweight titles
31Win27–2–1Silvano BertiniRTD12, 3:00Aug 14, 1973Makomanai Ice Arena, Sapporo, Hokkaido, JapanRetained WBA and WBC light-middleweight titles
30Win26–2–1Ryu SorimachiMD15Apr 19, 1973Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, JapanRetained WBA and WBC light-middleweight titles
29Draw25–2–1Miguel de OliveiraMD15Jan 9, 1973Metropolitan Gym, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBA and WBC light-middleweight titles
28Win25–2Matt DonovanKO3, 0:53Oct 3, 1972Nihon University, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBA and WBC light-middleweight titles
27Win25–2Domenico TiberiaKO1, 1:49May 7, 1972Sports Centre, Fukuoka, JapanRetained WBA and WBC light-middleweight titles
26Win24–2Cassius NaitoKO7, 1:30Feb 2, 1972Metropolitan Gym, Tokyo, Japan
25Win23–2Carmelo BossiSD15Oct 31, 1971Nihon University, Tokyo, JapanWon WBA and WBC light-middleweight titles
24Win22–2Tetsuo HoshinoKO2, 2:41May 28, 1971Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese light-middleweight title
23Win21–2Alfredo FuentesKO1, 3:08Mar 26, 1971Tokyo, Japan
22Win20–2Hideo KanazawaKO2, 1:45Feb 18, 1971Osaka, Japan
21Win19–2Hisao MinamiKO7, 2:38Jan 8, 1971Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese light-middleweight title
20Win18–2Raizo KashimaKO3, 2:34Oct 30, 1970Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese light-middleweight title
19Win17–2Tetsuo HoshinoKO5, 2:12Sep 10, 1970Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese light-middleweight title
18Win16–2Muneo MizoguchiKO8, 2:09Aug 9, 1970Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese light-middleweight title
17Win15–2Ken SatoKO3, 2:31May 23, 1970Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
16Win14–2George CarterSD10Apr 9, 1970Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese light-middleweight title
15Loss13–2George CarterUD10Feb 5, 1970Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese light-middleweight title
14Win13–1Turtle OkabeKO7, 2:25Dec 18, 1969Tokyo, JapanRetained Japanese light-middleweight title
13Loss12–1Pedro AdigueKO1, 2:21Oct 30, 1969Tokyo, Japan
12Win12–0Noriyasu YoshimuraKO4, 1:37Sep 4, 1969Nagoya, Aichi, JapanWon Japanese light-middleweight title
11Win11–0Rocky AlardeKO8, 1:28Jul 30, 1969Tokyo, Japan
10Win10–0Alacran KusanagiKO9, 0:21Jun 16, 1969Tokyo, Japan
9Win9–0Takemi KatoKO6, 1:00Mar 27, 1969Tokyo, Japan
8Win8–0Masaki NomotoPTS6Feb 3, 1969Tokyo, Japan
7Win7–0Masami TakechiRTD4, 3:00Dec 30, 1968Tokyo, Japan
6Win6–0Sozo YamamotoKO1, 1:25Oct 27, 1968Tokyo, Japan
5Win5–0Takao HigaKO3, 1:19Oct 6, 1968Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
4Win4–0Tadakazu SakaiKO2, 1:05Aug 31, 1968Tokyo, Japan
3Win3–0Toshiaki KanekoKO3, 2:00Aug 8, 1968Tokyo, Japan
2Win2–0Koji WatanabeKO2, 0:52Jun 30, 1968Tokyo, Japan
1Win1–0Akira TakekawaKO1, 2:41Jun 15, 1968Tokyo, Japan

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

''The Ring'' magazine titles

Regional/International titles

Undisputed titles

Post retirement

Like many other Japanese boxers, Wajima became a successful television personality after retiring, and has appeared on game shows and television dramas. He became the head of the Eastern Japan Boxing Council, and has founded his own boxing gym in Tokyo. His brother-in-law also runs a successful dumpling store in Kokubunji, Tokyo. He also claims that condemned prisoner Iwao Hakamada is innocent. Hakamada was later released after 45 years in prison, due to new evidence and discovery of the prosecution's reliance on falsified evidence.