“It Was the Biggest Crisis of My Life…” Koki Kameda Reveals His “Struggles as a Promoter” and “Feelings Toward His Father”

The challenging world of promotion

“I deeply apologize for the inconvenience and concern caused by this series of incidents.”

May 25—Koki Kameda (39) bowed deeply before the press. The former three-division world champion was visibly frazzled.

It has been 11 years since his retirement. He has been active as a promoter since 2022, organizing 31 boxing events.

However, in May of this year, the Kyrgyzstan leg of “SAIKOULUSH,” a boxing event promoted by Koki, was canceled due to financial difficulties. The cause was the sudden termination of their business partnership by “LUSH,” a company he had been working with since 2024.

An event scheduled for June in Aichi also faced the threat of cancellation, but thanks to funding from CyberAgent, the parent company of “ABEMA,” it was somehow managed to go ahead.

Koki, who said he “ran around trying to raise funds,” apologized to the press as mentioned at the beginning. At times, he choked up, and with tears in his eyes, expressed his gratitude, saying, “It’s beyond words… I truly cannot thank you enough.”

What is Koki thinking now? We asked him about the recent turmoil, his pride as a promoter, and his vision for the future of the boxing world.

――You serve as the representative of “Kameda Promotion” while also working as a promoter. What’s your daily schedule like?

“I split my time between Osaka and Tokyo. I arrive at the office around 9:00 a.m., read the newspaper, and check stock fluctuations before heading out for meetings or sales calls. Even though I’ve had enough of investing after being swindled into 700 million yen in debt, I still can’t help but keep an eye on things like Kioxia’s stock price (laughs).Almost 100% of my evenings are taken up with business dinners. I make a point of interacting with people from a wide range of industries and backgrounds, trying to incorporate the good ideas I pick up. I work from morning till night. However, I leave all the housework and child-rearing to my wife—I don’t do a thing around the house (laughs).”

――Now in your 21st year in business, you’re also the CEO of a company with several employees. How did you learn the skills needed to be a business leader?

“Back when I was a boxer, I left financial matters almost entirely to my tax accountant. After I retired, as I started interacting more with business owners, they taught me the basics. I began by learning how to read financial statements, and as my knowledge grew, I became interested in business management.You see, once I get interested in something, I tend to focus on it and pursue it to the very end. For example, when I play ‘Dragon Quest,’ I won’t be satisfied until I reach level 99. I’m still learning every day.”

――It’s been about four years since you started working as a promoter. In the boxing world, it’s commonly said that “promoting fights isn’t profitable”—but what’s the reality?

“There’s a lot of money involved, and so many people are part of the process, so for world title fights, you can’t break even without relying on major streaming services like ‘ABEMA,’ ‘Amazon,’ and ‘U-NEXT.’ That’s the reality. If I had to sum up a promoter’s job in one sentence, it would be, ‘How to bring in the money.’

Once I started putting on events, I really went through all kinds of things…My very first event resulted in a loss in the range of several million yen. With attendance limits in place due to the COVID-19 crisis, I also struggled with sponsor sales. I had to take the time to carefully explain, ‘Boxing is a sport with weight classes and globally standardized rules—that’s what sets it apart from other combat sports.’ Still, this experience taught me a lot about boxing’s current status and public perception.”

“I owe my current success to my dad.”

――You faced a lot of criticism over the cancellation of the “SAIKOULUSH” event in Kyrgyzstan and the ensuing series of controversies. If the Aichi event had been canceled, you could have faced a suspension of your boxing license.

“During my active career, not only was the Kameda Gym’s license revoked, but our boxing licenses were also denied renewal, making it effectively impossible for all of us brothers to fight in Japan.Someone even made false allegations that JBC (Japan Boxing Commission) staff had been assaulted, confined, and subjected to intimidation and extortion, leading to a lawsuit seeking damages against four people associated with Kameda Gym (Kameda Gym won the case).

However, this was the biggest crisis of my life. The stress caused my hair to thin, and I ended up with a head of hair like Sha Wujing’s (laughs). I am truly grateful to everyone who helped us, especially CyberAgent.

Now, I’m focusing on what I need to do without letting outside criticism get to me. It’s a waste of time to worry about it, so I’m just looking ahead positively toward the next event.”

――You mentioned that “cash flow became tight due to the sudden termination of the partnership with LUSH.”

“That’s part of it, but it’s also true that our partnership with LUSH allowed us to stage many world title fights. I’m grateful for that as well. Hosting those world title fights raised Koki Kameda’s profile as a promoter and gave me the opportunity to gain valuable experience. Going forward, I want to build on that experience, keep my feet on the ground, and grow the ‘3150FIGHT’ brand.”

――Please tell us how you came to return to the Japanese boxing world after having parted ways once.

“The conclusion of my lawsuit with the JBC. And at that same time, I took over ‘KWORLD3,’ an amateur boxing gym my father had founded, and launched a new professional boxing gym—that was the catalyst.

Reinstating my father’s trainer’s license was, for me, a way of showing filial piety. After all, I owe everything I am today to my father. While my relationship with my brothers has changed as I’ve gotten older, my relationship with my father remains the same.”

――In 2025, you also ran for president of the West Japan Boxing Association.

“Right now, in the Japanese boxing world, each gym organizes its own events. As a result, regional gyms without financial resources or connections to the world governing bodies (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO) are unable to promote the talented boxers they’ve trained themselves, leading to an exodus of fighters to major gyms.

I want to make it the norm for boxers to ‘bloom where they were raised.’ That’s why I launched ‘3150FIGHT’ five years ago—a platform for combat sports events where fighters can compete regardless of which gym they belong to.I also ran for president of the West Japan Boxing Association because I wanted to reform the boxing world. Although I lost the election, it’s encouraging that so many people supported the manifesto I presented to reform the boxing world during the campaign.”

――Please tell us about your vision for the future as a promoter.

“I want to break the current pattern of everything being concentrated in the Kanto region. I want to actively organize world title fights and big matches in regions outside the Kanto area as well. That said, I don’t yet have the financial resources for that, so I’ll start with events that are within my means.

I want to promote promising boxers affiliated with gyms in the Kansai region and other parts of the country, while supporting them in partnership with their home gyms. I went through a lot during my active career, but it’s because of boxing that Koki Kameda exists today. I want to take initiatives that give back to the boxing world, even if only a little. I truly believe that from the bottom of my heart.”