Shinji Takehara


Shinji Takehara is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 1996. He was the first Japanese boxer to capture a middleweight title having held the WBA title from 1995 to 1996.
Takehara turned pro in 1989 and had a relatively short professional career, spanning only seven years. In 1995, he landed a shot at the WBA middleweight title against Jorge Fernando Castro and won by decision. Takehara lost the belt in his only defeat during his first defense to William Joppy in a 9th-round TKO. He was overwhelmed in the first round and appeared unable to determine incoming attacks. Ringside doctors examination discovered Takehara had posterior vitreous detachment which progressed into retinal detachment and subsequently forced him into retirement.
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Childhood and early career

Takehara got into numerous street fights during his teens. He briefly played baseball before joining the school judo team. Takehara did not move on to high school, after graduating middle school, he moved to Tokyo in 1988 to start a boxing career. He took numerous part-time jobs while training, including working as a cleaning man at Yokohama Arena, where he would later make his first title defense of the WBA Middleweight Title.

Professional career

Takehara made his debut on May 15, 1989, with a 4th-round KO victory. He went on to win the Japanese Middleweight Title in 1991, defending it three times. He won the vacant OPBF Middleweight Title in 1993, which he defended six times.
Takehara got a shot against WBA Middleweight Champion Jorge Castro, who had a record of 98-4-2 at the time and had made five title defenses. Takehara went into the fight as a huge underdog, and the match took place in the tiny Korakuen Hall despite being a world title bout. Regardless, Takehara knocked Castro down in the 3rd round, and won by unanimous decision in 12 rounds, becoming the first ever Japanese boxer to win a world middleweight title.
The win against Castro generated huge media hype, and Takehara's title defense took place in Yokohama Arena on June 24, 1996, against William Joppy. Though both fighters were undefeated, Takehara was once again the underdog, and Joppy announced that he would win easily by KO. The fight was a disaster for Takehara, who was knocked down in the 1st, and lost by TKO in the 9th when the referee stopped the fight, giving up the middleweight title in half a year. Takehara himself admitted that he would have been knocked out even if the referee did not stop the fight, and Joppy remarked that he could have knocked out Takehara much earlier if he had wanted.
While preparing for his next fight, Takehara was diagnosed with a detached retina. This forced him to retire from boxing at only 24 years of age. His record was 24-1-0.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
25Loss24–1William JoppyTKO9, 2:291996–06–24Arena, Yokohama, JapanLost WBA middleweight title
24Win24–0Jorge CastroUD121995–12–19Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanWon WBA middleweight title
23Win23–0Lee Shung-ChunPTS121995–09–12JapanRetained OPBF middleweight title
22Win22–0Park Young-KiKO1 1995–04–17JapanRetained OPBF middleweight title
21Win21–0Craig TrotterKO7 1994–12–19JapanRetained OPBF middleweight title
20Win20–0Lee Hyun-SikPTS121994–09–18Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo, JapanRetained OPBF middleweight title
19Win19–0Alex TuiKO7 1994–06–12Hiroshima, JapanRetained OPBF middleweight title
18Win18–0Noli de GuiaKO1 1994–02–21Japan
17Win17–0Nico ToririKO6 1993–11–22JapanRetained OPBF middleweight title
16Win16–0Lee Sung-ChunKO12, 2:381993–05–24JapanWon vacant OPBF middleweight title
15Win15–0Satoshi YokozakiKO5 1993–02–15JapanRetained Japanese middleweight title
14Win14–0Biney MartinUD101992–08–17JapanRetained Japanese middleweight title
13Win13–0Yoshinori NishizawaPTS101992–05–17Hiroshima, JapanRetained Japanese middleweight title
12Win12–0Hisashi TerajiKO2, 2:471992–02–17JapanRetained Japanese middleweight title
11Win11–0Takehito SaijoKO7 1991–10–28JapanWon Japanese middleweight title
10Win10–0Jiro KashiwaraKO4 1991–07–15Japan
9Win9–0Tomo SuzukiKO1 1991–02–18Japan
8Win8–0Park Keon-SooKO1 1990–11–26Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
7Win7–0Satoshi YokozakiKO10 1990–07–30Japan
6Win6–0Haruhisa TokudaKO2 1990–02–18Osaka, Japan
5Win5–0Biney MartinPTS61989–12–23Japan
4Win4–0Yoshihiro KitadaKO1 1989–11–10Japan
3Win3–0Kiyoshi HirayamaKO1 1989–09–18Japan
2Win2–0Kiyoshi HirayamaKO2 1989–07–17Japan
1Win1–0Masao TadanoKO4 1989–05–15Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan

Legacy

Winning a world middleweight title had been regarded as impossible for any Japanese boxer, since the division had featured some of the sports best champions, including Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto DurΓ‘n, Marvin Hagler, and Thomas Hearns. Though Takehara lost in his first defense, William Joppy remained a top middleweight contender for more than seven years after beating Takehara. Joppy remarked before his fight against FΓ©lix Trinidad that Takehara punched the hardest of any of the fighters he had faced. Takehara is now known more for his success after retiring from boxing, but his short career has left an important legacy on Japanese boxing.

Post retirement

Few people knew Takehara as a former world champion, and he had to rely on part-time jobs to maintain a living. After years of mediocre living, Takehara achieved immense popularity in 2000 after appearing on the variety show "Gachinko Fight Club." The show is similar to The Contender in concept, where the lives of aspiring boxers are documented as they go through hard training and life struggles. The show produced 12 professional boxers during its three-year run, and Takehara's role as the tough but fair-minded trainer was central to the show's success, allowing Takehara to pursue further opportunities in the television business. Since then, he has appeared on numerous variety and talk shows, and has even guest-starred in a TV drama series and released a rap CD. Takehara's blog and column in the Yahoo! Japan web magazine enjoy great popularity. IN 2014 he was diagnosed with bladder cancer and underwent treatment that left him in remission since 2015.