The story of the reversal of the “cheap” boxer Yuichi Ideta to become the “Japanese Champion

Why Ideta, who was treated as a cheap shot, was able to win the title of Japanese champion

He must have looked like a cheap tile.

Mihako laughs and explains, “The former Japanese champion won in Osaka.

I think the champion’s camp thought that the win over the former Japanese champion in Osaka was a fluke, and that it was back to Ideta’s losing streak. Matchmaking is a world of tactics, so right after the first-round KO loss, I thought about retiring him because of his leg injury, but on the other hand, I felt that the champion might think, ‘If it’s Izuta, he’ll win easily,’ and call him up, so I waited a day and a thousand years for a match offer.

Just as Misako had hoped, the champion made an offer to fight him.

At that time in 2010, Shuichiro Yoshino was the WBO Asia Pacific lightweight champion at Misako Gym.

In April ’22, Yoshino had beaten former WBO super featherweight champion Masayuki Ito by TKO as a prelude to the Golovkin vs. Ryota Murata bout, and Yoshino’s momentum was carrying over to the entire gym. When Misako suggested that Ideta, who was practicing silently by himself, join Yoshino and others in running in the gym, Ideta was adamant that he would be a nuisance because of his slow legs, but instead he was allowed to participate.

On Saturday morning, at a track in a park near the gym, Ideta joined Yoshino and other young athletes in an 800-meter run.

He said, “In the ring, you fight alone, but until the match, you prepare for it as a team. I think he was reminded of how many people are supporting him.

I wanted them to learn the professionalism of top athletes by running together, and although they were in the back of the pack at the joint practice, they clenched and clenched as they ran. I was in my late thirties among the young fighters, and I felt like I was out of place in the gym, but after we started training together, Ideta started talking to the young fighters before and after practice, and the young fighters started talking to Ideta, which made the gym more lively.

In the title match, the body strikes he had been practicing paid off, and he won by TKO in 1:52 of the 9th round, 17 years and 7 months after his debut at the age of 20.

Ideta, arms crossed, reflected, “When I was young, I won the rookie championship.

When I was young, I won the Rookie of the Year title and had a 12-match winning streak, so I thought I could become Japanese champion in one or two years. I never thought it would take this long.

Misako narrowed her eyes.

For a boxer, it makes all the difference whether he becomes champion or not. No matter how many times you lose, if you win one title match, your name will be engraved in history. I really wanted him to win.

At 40 years old, Kato is the oldest champion in Japan, and his opponent in the October title match that marked his V3 triumph was also 39 years old, so the fight was a heated contest that put both boxers’ lives on the line. Although both fighters’ ages were under scrutiny before the fight, they fought passionately as if they were grinding each other’s souls.

In the fourth round, Ideta took Kato down twice, but Kato was not intimidated and landed a left hand that put Ideta on his heels, and in the fifth round, Ideta staggered Kato with a short right hand, and after a flurry of punches, the referee ruled the fight a TKO. Both Ideta’s victory and Kato’s defeat were etched in the minds of the fans at Korakuen.

Former three-weight champion Higashi Yaegashi, who was commentating on the match, praised the fight, saying, “Boxing is not only great for the world champion, but also for the world champion.

In boxing, it is not only world champions who are great, but also those who have been competing for a long time who shine brightly.

On November 21, the strongest challenger in the Japanese super welterweight division will be held. The winner of that match, the strongest challenger, will come for Ideta’s belt. Ideta spoke about his next defense with an aloof expression on his face.

Both fighters are stronger than me. I’m not going to defend, I’m going to challenge, and I’m going to do it with no regrets.

How far will the black swan of the Japanese boxing world go?

(Honorifics omitted)