A pair of Japanese boxers, Shigetoshi Kotari and Hiromasa Urakawa, have tragically died in recent days following brain injuries suffered in separate fights earlier this month.
Kotari and Urakawa boxed on a bill promoted by Akihiko Honda’s Teiken Promotions at the famed Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Aug. 2.
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Kotari lost consciousness after battling to a 12-round draw with Yamato Hata. The Japanese boxer was rushed to a local hospital for emergency brain surgery for a subdural hematoma. Kotari’s condition failed to improve, and his death was confirmed Friday.
Urakawa lost by technical knockout in the eighth and final round to Yoji Saito. He collapsed shortly after his defeat and was taken to the hospital to undergo a craniotomy to treat an acute subdural hematoma. Urakawa succumbed to his injuries Saturday.
Nagoya’s Kotari was 28 years old and had 12 professional boxing matches. He had won eight fights, lost two, and drawn two. Kotari was challenging for his first regional title in his final fight, making the jump from eight rounds to 12 rounds.
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The Japanese Boxing Commission has since confirmed that OPBF title bouts will now take place over the shorter 10-round distance to try to reduce the risk of injury.
The death of Kim Duk-koo after being knocked out in the 14th round in a 1982 world title fight — and the subsequent suicides of the bout referee and Duk-koo’s mother — led to championship fights being reduced from 15 rounds to 12 rounds. Now, the JBC has taken another step to make boxing safer by lowering its regional title fights from 12 rounds to 10 rounds.
Tokyo’s Urakawa also died at the age of 28. He had 14 fights to his name, winning 10 and losing four. Urakawa fell short thrice in his last four outings, and his final contest, which tragically led to his death, was his first knockout defeat.
Neither boxer had shown signs of physical problems heading into their respective bouts.
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