Chairman Hideyuki Ohashi Reveals Three Worries Before Naoya Inoue’s Tokyo Dome Event

The journey to hosting a big match was not without its challenges. Inoue’s opponent, Luis Nery (29, Mexico), caused controversy in two title matches against former WBC world bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka (41) in 2017. In the first instance, he tested positive for doping, and in the next match, he exceeded the weight limit by 2.3 kg, leading to the title being stripped before the fight. He also caused weight limit controversies in the US’s Las Vegas ring.

“Despite his weight issues, we couldn’t avoid hosting a big match. To prevent any exploitation, we included clauses in the contract stating that the match wouldn’t proceed if there was even a one-pound (453g) weight overage. We weighed in every two months, one month, two weeks, one week, and two days before the match, recorded it on video, and confirmed it through the commission.”

Given Nery’s record, precautions were taken. Terence J. Doheny (37, Australia), who participated in the first match, was scheduled to step in as a replacement if Nery exceeded the weight limit or tested positive for doping.

“Doheny has won against Japanese boxers in all three of his fights and is a very serious individual. We trusted Doheny not to exceed the weight limit or indulge in doping.”

Two weeks before the match, Nery was well-prepared, leading to Inoue jokingly saying, 

“If I fail to make weight now, will the main event be Nery vs. Doheny?”

The success of the Tokyo Dome event is expected to further elevate Ohashi’s name in the global boxing community. He had already been receiving inquiries from promoters and matchmakers worldwide. However, he was surprised by an offer from Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sports of Saudi Arabia, who is a member of the royal family. Al-Faisal showed a photo of himself with soccer superstar Lionel Messi (36) and offered a significantly high fight purse, unthinkable in the Japanese boxing world. Interestingly, the previous unification fight was almost set to take place in Saudi Arabia, but it was called off in October last year due to the Gaza invasion by Israel. If the offer had been accepted, Inoue could have been the first Japanese boxer to defend his title in Saudi Arabia.

 

“If I were to tell myself 30 years ago about the current situation, I would never believe it.”

With a wry smile, Ohashi retrieved an old pamphlet from the chairman’s office.

“Yokohama Boxing Theater I”

This was the event where Ohashi first made match arrangements, held at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium on March 21, 1996. Hideo Star, who would later become a world champion, was the main event, but he wasn’t a Japanese champion at the time. Five fighters from Ohashi Gym who participated in the four-round preliminaries all suffered defeats.

“In February 1994, I opened the gym immediately after retiring, so maybe because of that, I couldn’t shake off my mentality from my active days. I thought that if the opponent was weak, we could win, but our fighters were even weaker (laughs). One of the fighters who suffered five consecutive defeats, Hawk Yanagi (50), later became the chairman of our gym’s alumni association, and he said, ‘It’s completely unthinkable from that era’ (laughs).

Katsushige Kawashima, who became the first world champion, was a diligent and hardworking person. That changed my perspective from ‘World champions are naturally talented’ to ‘You can become a champion with sincere effort,’ ‘World champions can be cultivated.'”

Following Kawashima, Hideyuki Ohashi also developed Tomoki Kameda (41), who conquered three weight classes, and the current Ohashi Gym boasts three active world champions. Regarding the joy of being a promoter, Ohashi said, “I believe that watching a big match will inspire some child to become a future champion.”

“The Tokyo Dome event is not the end but a beginning for Inoue Naoya and Ohashi Gym to accelerate. We have also started receiving offers from other stadiums in Japan. If Tenshin Nasukawa achieves more, we may see a match at the Tokyo Dome. Wouldn’t you like to see a sold-out Dome for a match between Japanese fighters?”

As a promoter, Ohashi has made strides from suffering five consecutive defeats at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium 30 years ago to the Tokyo Dome. Where will he fly next?

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(Titles omitted in the text)