Takeshi Fuji

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Takeshi Fuji
藤猛
Born
Paul Takeshi Fujii

(1940-07-06) July 6, 1940 (age 83)
Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii
(nowadays Hawaii, U.S.)
Nationality
  • Japanese
  • American (expatriate)
Statistics
Weight(s)Light welterweight
Height5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Reach66+1⁄2 in (169 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights38
Wins34
Wins by KO29
Losses3
Draws1

Takeshi Fuji (藤猛, born Paul Takeshi Fujii on July 6, 1940) is a Hawaiian-born Japanese former professional boxer.[1] He is a former Lineal, WBA and WBC super lightweight (light welterweight) champion.

Early life and education[edit]

Born in 1940, Paul Fujii was a third-generation Japanese-Hawaiian.[1] He was raised in the Territory of Hawaii, graduated from Farrington High School, and served in the United States Marine Corps.[2]

Amateur career[edit]

During his amateur boxing career, Fujii had a record of 116 wins and 16 losses over a total of 132 fights.[1]

Professional career[edit]

Fujii started boxing professionally in April 1964.[1] He traveled to Japan, where he became known as Fuji Takeshi, and joined the boxing gym run by former professional wrestler Rikidōzan. Though he fought in Japan for most of his career, he could not speak Japanese. His trainer, Eddie Townsend, was also a Japanese-American. He made his professional debut in April, 1964 with a 2nd-round KO.

In June, 1965, Fuji challenged the Japanese super lightweight title, and won by KO only 45 seconds into the first round. This was his 11th professional fight, and he defended the title once before returning it. Fuji won the OPBF light welterweight title in 1966.

World title[edit]

In April 1967, Fujii challenged Lineal, WBA and WBC light welterweight champion Sandro Lopopolo. Fujii won in an upset victory by KO in the second round to become the new world champion.[3][1] The match was declared a knockout victory for Fujii after he had knocked down Lopopolo three times in the same round, according to pre-agreed rules.[4] In October 1967, Sports Illustrated noted that at the time, Fujii was one of only two world champions recognized by the WBA who was a native of the United States; the other nine were from other countries.[5]

Fujii successfully defended his world junior welterweight title in November 1967, after knocking out Willy Quatuor of West Germany.[6] In December, 1968, he faced Nicolino Locche to defend his WBA light welterweight title, but gave up in the 10th round.[1]

Later career and legacy[edit]

In June, 1970, Fujii was scheduled to face former world champion Eddie Perkins in a non-title match, but suddenly withdrew from the fight claiming to have an injury. The Japan Boxing Commission penalized Fujii with a suspension, and he retired shortly afterwards. His record was 34-3-1 (29KOs).

In 1999, Fujii was inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.[7] Fujii's record as the undisputed world champion in the 140-pound (63.5 kg) class in 1968 was not repeated until 2001, when Russian Australian Kostya Tszyu claimed the IBF, WBA, and WBC titles.[8]

Professional boxing record[edit]

38 fights 34 wins 3 losses
By knockout 29 2
By decision 5 1
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
38 Win 34–3–1 Benito Juarez KO 3 (10) 1970-05-03 Japan
37 Win 33–3–1 Suk Kyu Park KO 3 (10) 1970-03-05 Japan
36 Draw 32–3–1 Byung Mo Lim PTS 10 (10) 1969-09-25 Sumpu Arena, Shizuoka, Japan
35 Win 32–3 Manfredo Alipala KO 10 (10) 1969-07-24 Japan
34 Loss 31–3 Nicolino Locche RTD 10 (15) 1968-12-12 Kuramae Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan Lost WBA & The Ring light welterweight titles
33 Win 31–2 Roberto Cruz KO 2 (10) 1968-04-02 Nakajima Sports Center, Sapporo, Japan
32 Win 30–2 Johnny Williams KO 2 (10) 1968-02-15 Japan
31 Win 29–2 Sadao Takagi KO 2 (10) 1967-12-21 Japan
30 Win 28–2 Willi Quatuor KO 4 (15) 1967-11-16 Kuramae Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBA, WBC & The Ring light welterweight titles
29 Win 27–2 Fel Pedranza KO 2 (10) 1967-08-29 Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
28 Win 26–2 Sandro Lopopolo KO 2 (15) 1967-04-30 Kuramae Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan Won WBA, WBC & The Ring light welterweight titles
27 Win 25–2 Carl Peñalosa KO 2 (12) 1967-02-13 Japan Retained OPBF light welterweight title
26 Win 24–2 Jesse Cortez KO 3 (10) 1967-01-05 Japan
25 Win 23–2 Kid Bassey II UD 10 (10) 1966-12-06 Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
24 Win 22–2 Luis Molina RTD 3 (10) 1966-11-15 Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
23 Win 21–2 Larry Flaviano KO 2 (10) 1966-11-03 Japan
22 Win 20–2 Rocky Alarde KO 3 (12) 1966-09-29 Japan Won OPBF light welterweight title
21 Win 19–2 Shigeru Ogiwara KO 2 (10) 1966-08-25 Kitakyushu, Japan Retained Japanese light welterweight title
20 Win 18–2 Byung Oh Chang KO 2 (10) 1966-07-28 Prefectural Gymnasium, Yamagata City, Japan
19 Win 17–2 Alfredo Fuentes TKO 4 (10) 1966-06-27 Akita City, Japan
18 Loss 16–2 Fel Pedranza KO 6 (10) 1966-06-05 Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan
17 Win 16–1 Rudy Gonzalez PTS 10 (10) 1966-05-05 Japan
16 Win 15–1 Ador Plaza KO 4 (10) 1966-03-21 Japan
15 Win 14–1 Kim Deuk-bong KO 2 (10) 1966-01-20 Japan
14 Loss 13–1 Johnny Santos UD 10 (10) 1965-11-16 Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
13 Win 13–0 Willie Castillo TKO 7 (10) 1965-11-02 Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
12 Win 12–0 Yuji Tsukuba KO 8 (10) 1965-09-09 Japan
11 Win 11–0 Nakao Sasazaki KO 1 (10) 1965-06-18 Japan Won vacant Japanese light welterweight title
10 Win 10–0 Neto Villareal PTS 8 (8) 1965-04-06 Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
9 Win 9–0 Leopoldo Corona UD 10 (10) 1965-03-09 Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
8 Win 8–0 Arnie Cota Robles TKO 8 (8) 1965-02-23 Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
7 Win 7–0 Manuel Lugo KO 3 (10) 1965-02-16 Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Bernie Magallanes TKO 3 (8) 1965-01-26 Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Noriyasu Yoshimura KO 2 (8) 1964-10-03 Japan
4 Win 4–0 Fujio Mikami TKO 4 (8) 1964-07-18 Japan
3 Win 3–0 Akio Matsunaga KO 3 (6) 1964-06-30 Japan
2 Win 2–0 Kunio Yoshida PTS 6 (6) 1964-05-26 Japan
1 Win 1–0 Minoru Goto KO 2 (6) 1964-04-14 Japan

Film[edit]

Paul Fujii starred in a feature-length film playing himself called The Story of Paul Fujii, which was released in 1968.[9]

Personal life[edit]

After retiring as a professional boxer, Fujii returned to Hawaii.[10] In 1996, he moved back to Japan, briefly serving as chairman of the Iwaki Kyōei Gym.[10] He went on to teach boxing mainly to children in Mito, Ibaraki, until the gym went bankrupt in June 2015.[10]

In August 2015, Fujii registered as a special trainer at a gym in Ōta, Tokyo.[10] At the time, his wife and two of his children were living in Hawaii, while his eldest son's family lived in Japan.[10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f 藤猛 (in Japanese). Japan Pro Boxing Association. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  2. ^ Ito, Monte (August 5, 1968). "Films from the Orient". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved April 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Takeshi Fuji - Lineal Junior Welterweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  4. ^ Nakashima, Leslie (May 1, 1967). "Fujii Wins World Title on Knockout". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. B-6. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  5. ^ Johnson, William (October 9, 1967). "The Riddle of the Jolly Do-gooders". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 27, no. 15. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via EBSCOHost.
  6. ^ "Fights Last Night". The Daily Home News. Brunswick, New Jersey. November 17, 1967. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Hawaii Hall of Fame adding 22 – Among the honored are Olympians, world champs". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. February 4, 1999. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Lusetich, Robert (November 8, 2001). "WBC praises referee for stopping Kostya's fight". The Australian. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via EBSCOHost.
  9. ^ "Fujii Story Has 'Appeal'". The Sunday Star Bulletin & Advertiser. August 4, 1968. Retrieved April 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b c d e "ハンマーパンチ藤猛氏、再び日本リングに". Daily Sports (in Japanese). August 28, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2023.

External links[edit]

Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Koji Okano 		Japanese light welterweight champion
June 18, 1965 – 1967
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Shigeru Ogiwara
Preceded by
Rocky Alarde
 OPBF light welterweight champion
September 29, 1966 – 1967
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Larry Flaviano
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBA light welterweight champion
April 30, 1967 – December 12, 1968 		Succeeded by
WBC light welterweight champion
April 30, 1967 – November 14, 1968
Stripped 		Vacant
Title next held by
Pedro Adigue
The Ring light welterweight champion
April 30, 1967 – December 12, 1968 		Succeeded by
Nicolino Locche
Undisputed light welterweight champion
April 30, 1967 – November 14, 1968
Titles fragmented 		Vacant
Title next held by
Kostya Tszyu
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