Former Two-Division World Boxing Champion Hiroki Ioka Talks About His Battle With Alcoholism: “I Was Living on the Brink of Death”

Incidents of wandering while intoxicated and “theft” allegations, followed by four hospitalizations and discharges

“When I regained consciousness, I was lying on a hospital bed. The name tag listed my name, date of birth, and the date of admission—October 18. It was the same date I first became world champion.”

Hiroki Ioka (57), a former two-division world boxing champion, pieced together his words as if retracing his hazy memories.On October 18 of last year, Ioka was rushed by ambulance from his home in Osaka City after a ruptured esophageal variceal aneurysm. His condition was so critical that the doctor told his wife, Emi (54), to “prepare for the worst.”

At the time, Ioka was suffering from severe alcohol dependence and had been in and out of the hospital for treatment—this was his fourth such admission. Ioka himself reflects on his grueling battle with alcoholism, which Emi described as “fighting a monster.”

“When I was an active boxer, I didn’t touch a drop of alcohol because of weight cutting. It wasn’t until after I retired that I started drinking,” (Ioka)

October 18, 1987. At 18 years and 9 months—the youngest Japanese boxer ever to do so—Ioka won the WBC World Minimumweight Championship. As the last protégé of renowned trainer Eddie Townsend (who passed away at age 73), he spent his active career immersed in boxing.Kazuto Ioka (37), a four-division world champion, is his nephew. After retiring, he opened the “Hiroki Ioka Boxing Gym” in 2002. On February 1, 2003, he married Emi, a former flight attendant.

“Back then, we used to go out to dinner as a couple and enjoy a drink together. My husband would get sleepy after 11 p.m., so we’d call it a night around then,” said Emi.

Although they had a drink every night, he would wake up at 6:00 a.m. He never missed his 10-kilometer jog, even after retiring. It was during the COVID-19 crisis that this peaceful daily routine was disrupted.

“The boxing gym had to close due to the state of emergency declaration.As I spent more and more days at home, the amount of time I spent drinking increased. Until then, I’d spent every day at the gym from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. But once the gym closed and I started spending more time at home, I suddenly didn’t know what to do with myself, and I began to drown my sorrows in alcohol,” (Ioka)

He says his condition began to deteriorate significantly around December 2022.

“Up until then, I’d only drink at night, but I started drinking as soon as I woke up in the morning. I’d sleep a little, drink again during the day, and then sleep for a few hours. I’d wake up in the evening and drink again—I started repeating this cycle over and over,” (Emi)

In technical terms, this condition is called “continuous drinking.” Ioka underwent tests at a hospital and learned that “blackouts”—losing consciousness due to intoxication—are a precursor to alcohol dependence, and that anyone who repeatedly experiences them is at risk of developing the condition. At that time, Ioka had already been experiencing states close to “blackouts.”

“I never imagined I’d become an alcoholic. There wasn’t any specific trigger that led me to drown myself in alcohol, but my drinking increased—to the point where I’d down five 25-degree ‘One Cup’ shochu bottles (200 mL) straight, one after another. I tried every kind of alcohol there was,” said Ioka.

Click here for the second part of the article, in which Ioka discusses how he overcame alcoholism

From the July 10, 2026 issue of *FRIDAY*