Kazuyoshi Kanazawa

Kazuyoshi Kanazawa, a Japanese bantamweight who boxed from an orthodox stance, was an Oriental champion and challenger for the undisputed world title during a professional career lasting from 1965 to 1972. Born on 8 November 1946 in Sapporo, Hokkaido, he finished with 30 wins, including 17 knockouts, 10 defeats and one draw from 41 contests. His Japanese Wikipedia biography and BoxRec identify Sapporo as his birthplace, while BoxRec lists Chofu, Tokyo, as his residence. His principal achievement was winning the Oriental bantamweight championship in 1971, although his reputation rests chiefly on his second contest with Ruben Olivares later that year.

Kanazawa began boxing at Sapporo Gym while attending Sapporo Technical High School. In 1963, he won the flyweight division of Japan’s national amateur championship for working adults. He subsequently joined Abe Boxing Gym and made his professional debut at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on 18 July 1965, knocking out Kiyoshi Ichikawa in the second round. His early progress was uneven. After 16 professional appearances, he stood at 11 wins, four defeats and one draw, having already encountered opponents capable of exposing the limitations in his developing game.

His results improved considerably during 1968. He beat Katsuyoshi Takayama over 10 rounds in February and followed with victories over opponents including Baby Lorona, Romy Guelas and Masataka Uno. He won all seven of his contests that year, four inside the distance. The sequence brought him into more demanding international company, but his first meeting with Olivares, in Mexico on 26 January 1969, ended abruptly. The unbeaten Mexican dropped him three times in the second round before the contest was stopped. This was a non-title fight, staged before Olivares became world bantamweight champion.

Kanazawa answered that defeat with one of his most substantial victories. On 10 March 1969 he stopped the hard-punching Mexican Jesus Pimentel in the ninth round at Korakuen Hall. In August he outpointed another experienced Mexican, Jose Medel, over 10 rounds. Those results established that he could beat recognised international opposition, even if consistency remained a problem. Stoppage defeats against Rudy Alarcon in 1969, Rodolfo Martinez in April 1970 and Ushiwakamaru Harada that November interrupted his advance. His record reflected a boxer capable of important wins but vulnerable against strong opposition.

The decisive phase of his career came in 1971. On 1 February, he knocked out former world flyweight champion Berkrerk Chartvanchai in the fourth round in Bangkok. A first-round stoppage of Chul-Ho Shin followed in May. On 2 July, at Korakuen Hall, Kanazawa knocked out South Korea’s Yong Hwan Son in the fifth round to win the vacant Oriental bantamweight title. The championship was administered by the Oriental Boxing Federation, the predecessor of today’s Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation. These three successive stoppage victories preceded his only world championship challenge.

The return against Olivares took place at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya on 25 October 1971, with both the WBA and WBC bantamweight titles at stake. Kanazawa entered with a record of 30 wins, eight defeats and one draw; Olivares stood at 67 wins, one defeat and one draw. The challenger produced a far more competitive performance than in their first meeting. He initially sought distance, selected his counters carefully and made the champion work for his openings. As the pace increased, Kanazawa also showed a willingness to press forward and exchange. His performance showed boxing ability and determination against one of the division’s most formidable punchers.

Olivares finally prevailed in the 14th round. Kanazawa went down three times, and referee Jay Edson waved the contest over after the final knockdown. The official result was a knockout at two minutes of the round. The recorded scores were 62–60 and 63–61 for Olivares, with the third official level at 64–64, evidence of the challenger’s competitiveness before the finish. The contest received Japan’s annual best-fight award for 1971. Kanazawa fought only once more, losing by fifth-round knockout to Romeo Anaya at the Plaza de Toros San Roque in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico, on 13 February 1972. He then retired from professional boxing at 25.

His subsequent life included a move into kickboxing and a period serving as a Buddhist temple priest at his wife’s family temple. He also returned to boxing as the second chairman of Global Kyoei Gym in Iwaki, Fukushima, succeeding former world light-welterweight champion Takeshi Fuji and helping train younger fighters. His place in Japanese boxing history is nevertheless clear: an Oriental bantamweight champion whose victories over Pimentel, Medel and Chartvanchai gave substance to his standing, and whose unsuccessful challenge to Olivares became the defining contest of his career.