BY THE NUMBERS: KOICHI WAJIMA by Don Stradley • Illustration by KronkAAArt
rounds with Carmelo Bossi » Wajima’s 25th fight was against junior middleweight champion Carmelo Bossi,
turns as champion » A mere six months after regaining the laurels from Albarado, Wajima found himself rudely knocked out by South Korea’s Jae-doo Yuh. A former sugar factory worker, Yuh stopped Wajima in seven at the Kitakyushu Municipal Gymnasium in southern Japan. Though he was now in his 30s and seemed spent after twice losing his title by KO, Wajima steeled himself for one last stand. Once again in the challenger’s role, Wajima met Yuh in a rematch at Nihon University in February 1976. It was a glorious return to form, as Wajima dropped the South Korean in the eighth, bloodied his nose during the final few rounds and scored a KO at 1:47 of the 15th. The decisive punch, according to newswires, was “a crunching right straight to the face.” Unfortunately, Wajima’s third reign would be brief. Three months after regaining the title, Wajima was knocked out in 14 by Jose Duran. The next year, at the famous Budokan Hall in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Wajima looked pitiful as he suffered another KO loss, this time to Ring/WBA champion Eddie Gazo. After he endured two brutal knockdowns, Wajima’s handlers tossed in the towel at 0:45 of the 11th. Wajima never fought again, leaving the business with a record of 31-6-1 with 25 KOs. copies of a manga » Wajima enjoyed a well-deserved post-career celebrity, turning up on game shows and taking roles in television dramas. Since 1989, Wajima’s legacy has lived on (sort of) in a top-selling Japanese manga series, Hajime no Ippo, where one of the core characters, a fictional boxer named Masaru Aoki, is a master of the “frog punch.” The series creator and illustrator, George Morikawa, has referenced Wajima as an inspiration. From his tough childhood to being a three-time champion to having his signature move immortalized in a best-selling manga series and cult classic anime, Wajima’s life has been a sort of dream, from rags to riches to manga. He’s still alive at 82. Here’s to Japan’s Man of Flame, still burning bright.
a veteran who had won a silver medal as part of Italy’s acclaimed Olympic team of 1960. On October 31, 1971, Wajima defeated Bossi by split decision and claimed the undisputed 154-pound championship consisting of the WBA and WBC titles. Rather than hail his accomplishment, the Japanese dailies criticized Wajima for his peculiar style. Granted, Wajima’s roughhousing gave Bossi fits, as did his froggy-style uppercut, but boxing purists saw little in him to praise. Japan’s largest newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun, described the contest as “like a scuffle, or fight between gangsters.” title defenses during his first reign » Between May of 1972 and February 1974, Wajima made six successful title defenses, including a lightning-quick KO of Domenico Tiberia in Fukuoka. It remains among the quickest junior middleweight title fights in history, lasting only 109 seconds. There were also two hairpin-close bouts with Brazil’s Miguel de Oliveira, the first ending in a draw, the second in a majority verdict for Wajima. Many felt Oliveira had deserved the first bout and picked him to win the second. Wajima proved his critics wrong by being, as the United Press reported, “the aggressor all the way.”
He’s not in the International Boxing Hall of Fame and you’ve probably not heard of him, but Koichi Wajima was one of the great Japanese sluggers of the 1970s. A three-time junior middleweight champion, Wajima’s style was all-action. Forget jabs. Wajima blasted away with hooks and uppercuts and a right hand thrown like he was whipping a fastball over home plate. He was also known for bobbing and weaving in a peculiar swaying motion, waiting for the moment when he’d squat down and leap up at an opponent with his “frog jump uppercut,” an explosive move that made fans roar. Overall, Wajima was an entertaining and eccentric figure, earning the nickname “Hono no Otoko” (Translation: Man of Flame). Granted, defense wasn’t on the menu when Wajima fought. Every fight was a shootout, and sometimes Wajima came out on the wrong end of things. This made for a thrilling career. Here’s his story by the numbers.
straight KOs to kick things off » According to legend, Wajima’s struggling parents put him up for adoption when he was a child. After working in his stepfamily’s fishing business and then supporting himself by driving a dump truck, Wajima did what so many have done to escape poverty: He took up boxing. Turning professional in June of 1968, Wajima scored seven consecutive KOs, none of his opponents lasting past the fourth round.
seconds with Pedro Adigue » Wajima seemed off to a
great start, winning the Japanese junior middleweight title in only his 12th pro fight. Disaster struck for his unlucky 13th bout, a matchup with Pedro Adigue in Tokyo. Adigue was an acclaimed Filipino veteran who had recently won the WBC junior welterweight title. In a bout where neither fighter’s belt was on the line, Adigue scored a shocking KO at 2:21 of the first round. It wasn’t unusual for a young, up-and-coming
fights with Oscar “Shotgun” Albarado » One of Wajima’s great rivalries was with “Shotgun” Albarado, a scrappy contender from Pecos, Texas. Albarado, who’d had more than 50 bouts and was tougher than a burnt steak, challenged Wajima for the title in June of 1974 in Tokyo. The defending
fighter such as Wajima to be matched in a non-title bout against an older but smaller fighter who had a name. In fact, from the 1930s to the 1950s, such matches were practically de rigueur in America. The younger, heavier fighter usually won, putting a recognized name on his record, while the smaller fighter, with no belt at stake, returned to his weight class with his title. This time, the plan backfired. Despite his power and size, Wajima was still raw, while Adigue had competed in more than 40 pro bouts. The result didn’t matter much. Adigue lost his next three fights, while Wajima soon got back to his winning ways, including an eight-bout KO streak.
champion seemed on his way to a decision win, ahead on two scorecards as the 15th round began. Yet Albarado stormed out and smashed Wajima to the canvas three times, scoring a KO at 1:57 of the final round. The rematch seven months later was another long- distance brawl, but this time Wajima was relentless, throwing heavy punches with incredible accuracy. Before a crowd of 9,000 at Nihon University Auditorium, Wajima won by unanimous 15-round decision to reclaim the championship. His bruised face a reflection of the combat he’d just endured, Wajima won by scores of 69-67, 70-69 and 75-68. The AP had it for Wajima, 73-67. It may have been his finest hour.
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