Masashi Kudo (boxer)

From Justapedia, unleashing the power of collective wisdom
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Masashi Kudo
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
NationalityJapanese
Born (1951-08-24) August 24, 1951 (age 72)
Gojōme, Akita, Japan
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights24
Wins23
Wins by KO12
Losses1

Masashi Kudo (工藤 政志, Kudō Masashi, born August 24, 1951) is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 1979. He held the WBA and lineal super welterweight titles from 1978 to 1979.

Biography

Kudo was an amateur wrestler during high school, and only became a professional boxer when he failed to join the Japanese Olympic wrestling team for the 1972 Munich Olympics. He made his professional debut in May, 1973, and won the Japanese middleweight title in his 6th professional fight. He defended the title 8 times before returning it to Japanese Boxing Commission.

In 1978, he moved down to the light middleweight division to challenge Eddie Gazo for the WBA and lineal light middleweight titles. Kudo won by 15 round split-decision, becoming the second Japanese boxer to capture the world light middleweight crown since Koichi Wajima.[1]

Kudo defended his title three times including against Korean contender Ho Joo,[2] before losing to undefeated challenger Ayub Kalule by unanimous decision for his only professional loss.[3] He announced his retirement after the fight at only 28 years of age. His record was 23-1-0 (12KOs).

Kudo was possibly one of the least technically skilled champions in boxing history. He compensated for his lack of skill by displaying an enormous amount of stamina and strength, and retired without suffering a single knockdown.


Professional boxing record

24 fights 23 wins 1 loss
By knockout 12 0
By decision 11 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
24 Loss 23–1 Uganda Ayub Kalule UD 15 Oct 24, 1979 Japan City Gymnasium, Akita City, Akita, Japan Lost WBA and The Ring light-middleweight titles
23 Win 23–0 Argentina Manuel Ricardo Gonzalez TKO 12 (15) Jun 20, 1979 Japan City Gymnasium, Yokkaichi, Mie, Japan Retained WBA and The Ring light-middleweight titles
22 Win 22–0 Argentina Manuel Ricardo Gonzalez MD 15 May 14, 1979 Japan Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBA and The Ring light-middleweight titles
21 Win 21–0 Japan Ho Joo SD 15 Dec 13, 1978 Japan Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan Retained WBA and The Ring light-middleweight titles
20 Win 20–0 Nicaragua Eddie Gazo SD 15 Aug 9, 1978 Japan City Gymnasium, Akita City, Akita, Japan Won WBA and The Ring light-middleweight titles
19 Win 19–0 Japan Katsuo Esashi PTS 10 May 2, 1978 Japan Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
18 Win 18–0 Japan Katsuo Esashi RTD 3 (10) Oct 31, 1977 Japan Japan
17 Win 17–0 Ghana Peter Nanboku KO 9 (10) Sep 6, 1977 Japan Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
16 Win 16–0 Japan Saburo Sakai KO 7 (10) Jul 2, 1977 Japan Kumagaya, Japan
15 Win 15–0 Japan Yuichiro Watanabe PTS 10 May 3, 1977 Japan Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
14 Win 14–0 Japan Saburo Sakai KO 9 (10) Jan 30, 1977 Japan Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
13 Win 13–0 Japan Nessie Horiguchi PTS 10 Sep 26, 1976 Japan Japan
12 Win 12–0 Japan Yuichiro Watanabe KO 3 (10) Jun 27, 1976 Japan Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
11 Win 11–0 Japan Saburo Sakai KO 1 (10) Mar 28, 1976 Japan Japan
10 Win 10–0 Japan Takeshi Izumi KO 4 (10) Jan 27, 1976 Japan Okinawa, Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
9 Win 9–0 Japan Yuji Miyagoshi UD 10 Nov 30, 1975 Japan Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
8 Win 8–0 Japan Yuji Miyagoshi PTS 10 Jul 18, 1975 Japan Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
7 Win 7–0 Japan Takeshi Watanabe PTS 10 Jun 1, 1975 Japan Japan
6 Win 6–0 Japan Nobuyoshi Ozaki PTS 10 Mar 2, 1975 Japan Japan Won vacant Japanese middleweight title
5 Win 5–0 Japan Cassius Naito PTS 10 Jul 29, 1974 Japan Gifu, Japan
4 Win 4–0 Japan Seiji Nagai KO 4 (4) Dec 27, 1973 Japan Japan
3 Win 3–0 Japan Hachiro Kuroishi KO 2 (4) Dec 3, 1973 Japan Japan
2 Win 2–0 Japan Keiji Miyawaki KO 3 (4) Sep 30, 1973 Japan Japan
1 Win 1–0 Japan Toshio Oki RTD 3 (4) May 18, 1973 Japan Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

See also

References

  1. ^ "Masashi Kudo - Lineal Junior Middleweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  2. ^ "Japan: Junior Middleweight Title Fight". British Pathé. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  3. ^ "FIGHTING THE RULERS OF THE WBA". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2022-10-13.

External links

Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Steven Smith
Japanese middleweight champion
March 2, 1975 – 1978
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Katsuo Esashi
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBA super welterweight champion
August 9, 1978 – October 24, 1979
Succeeded by
The Ring super welterweight champion
August 9, 1978 – October 24, 1979