CHAMPION OF THE LENS
family in the back when they were struck by a driver who was under the influence. It was a devastating crash, which left his daughter in a coma for three days. Having brought his family to the U.S., Naoki was riddled with guilt but had to stay hungry to give them the life they deserved. Thankfully, his daughter made a full recovery. “The following year, Timothy Bradley fought Luis Carlos Abregu, and the photograph I took received an award from the BWAA,” said Fukuda. “From that moment on, my life changed in the U.S. From there, I won
and editing would be his only duties at that point. The first issue that he worked on featured legendary five- weight world champion Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns. Now working in the boxing business, Naoki got married and was delighted to introduce a baby daughter into the world. However, life was far from easy. While his grandfather’s business had been very successful, with two large buildings erected in Tokyo, Naoki’s parents were not financially prudent and ran up colossal debts of approximately $7 million plus interest. Instead of taking ownership, they fled and left Naoki, his new wife, and his grandfather to pay that money back. When Shigeo sadly passed away in 2000, at the age of 92, Naoki and his wife sold the business to help clear a large portion of the debt. Instead of being financially secure, the couple was left with nothing. Initially living at his wife’s parents’ house in Japan, Fukuda gambled and bought himself a one- way ticket to Las Vegas to pursue his dream of becoming a photographer. In September 2001, he traveled there alone
and had to save to bring his family to the U.S. at a later date. Slowly but surely, Fukuda began to make his mark. Las Vegas was essentially boxing heaven, with several events being held up and down The Strip every other week. Japanese broadcaster WOWOW and several other outlets commissioned Fukuda to work on big fights before he eventually joined forces with “The Bible of Boxing.” “I began doing work for Ring Magazine in 2008,” said Fukuda, who still provides us with hundreds of images per year. “I really looked up to the publication and admired it a lot. At high school, I’d worn a T-shirt and a hat with ‘The Ring’ written on them. “For years, I couldn’t get credentialed for fights. [Editor-in-Chief] Doug Fischer, [former Editors-in-Chief] Nigel Collins and Michael Rosenthal were very influential in making me official. I really appreciated that.” Things were looking up when another knockout blow landed with devastating force. In 2009, in Las Vegas, Fukuda was in his car with his
several awards.” For the uninitiated, positioning oneself on a ring apron and taking pictures of two people throwing punches might sound like an easy job. That is most certainly not the case. Producing the level of excellence that Fukuda does consistently requires years of dedication and practice. “My eye is always on the weaker fighter from the stronger opponent’s view,” revealed Fukuda. “I see things through the eyes of the fighter who has the advantage. If the fight is super-close, my eye will change from one fighter to the other. I try to be ahead of the punches that are thrown. “A lot of times, people will photograph Canelo and use the [burst mode] when Canelo throws the punch. What you should do is photograph the boxer who is being punched. To do that, you need to be with Canelo always. The only thing I don’t know is which punch will be landing, so I need to observe very closely.” In 2016, Fukuda decided that he would return to Japan. After covering the Floyd Mayweather vs.
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