Tsuyoshi Hamada

{{Infobox boxer

|image=

|name=Tsuyoshi Hamada
{{Resize|82%|浜田剛史}}

|realname=Tsuyoshi Hamada
{{Langx|ja|浜田剛{{Cite book|author=Masahiro Miyazaki|editor=Boxing Magazine editorial department|title=The Glorious Moments 究極の栄光・世界チャンピオン名鑑 – 日本ボクシング史に輝く41人の男たち|series=B.B.mook; 117, sports series; No.72|date=January 15, 2000|publisher=Baseball Magazine Sha Co., Ltd.|location=Tokyo, Japan|language=Japanese|isbn=978-4-583-61076-4|pages=66–67|chapter=浜田剛史〜初回KOでタイトル強奪の強打者〜}}{{Cite book|chapter-url=http://jpba.gr.jp/archive/1980_08.html|title=世界王者アーカイヴス (World Champion Archives)|editor=Japan Pro Boxing Association|date=June 1, 2008|accessdate=November 24, 2009|publisher=Japan Pro Boxing Association|location=Tokyo, Japan|language=Japanese|chapter=浜田剛史}}}}

|nickname=

|weight=junior welterweight

|height={{Convert|5|ft|7|in|m|2|abbr=on}}

|nationality=Japanese

|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1960|11|29|df=y}}

|birth_place=Nakagasuku, USCAR{{Sfn|Baseball Magazine Sha|2002|p=297}} {{small|(nowadays Nakagasuku, Okinawa, Japan)}}

|death_date=

|death_place=

|style=southpaw

|total=24

|wins=21

|KO=19

|losses=2

|draws=

|no contests=1

}}

{{Nihongo|Tsuyoshi Hamada|浜田剛史|Hamada Tsuyoshi|extra=born November 29, 1960}} is a retired Japanese professional boxer who is a former WBC world junior welterweight champion.

Biography

Hamada was born in Nakagusuku, Okinawa,{{Sfn|Baseball Magazine Sha|2002|p=297}} and began boxing at the age of fifteen. He won the Japan's inter-high school championship in the featherweight division in 1978.{{Cite book|editor=Boxing Magazine editorial department|script-title=ja:日本プロボクシングチャンピオン大鑑|date=March 1, 2004|publisher=Baseball Magazine Sha Co., Ltd.|location=Tokyo, Japan|language=Japanese|isbn=978-4-583-03784-4|page=53|chapter=浜田剛史}}{{Cite book|editor=Boxing Magazine editorial department (with Japan Boxing Commission, Japan Pro Boxing Association)|title=日本ボクシング年鑑2004 (Japan Boxing Year Book 2004)|date=April 30, 2004|publisher=Baseball Magazine Sha Co., Ltd.|location=Tokyo, Japan|language=Japanese|isbn=978-4-583-03799-8|page=203|chapter=アマチュア・レコード – 全日本高等学校選手権大会第32回}} He had an amateur record of 37–6 (28 KOs).{{Sfn|Baseball Magazine Sha|2002|p=297}}

=Professional boxing career=

Having turned professional in 1979, he made his debut under his real name Tsuyoshi Hamada, written as 浜田剛, in Tokyo on May 21. His ring name was changed into 浜田剛史, pronounced the same, in 1983.

Hamada fractured his left hand four times since 1981,{{Sfn|Baseball Magazine Sha|2002|p=256}} and received bone grafting twice. Then, he was not able to fight for two years. Hanging his left arm with a triangular bandage, he hit a punching bag only with his right fist. In 1984, after two away matches in Los Angeles, Hamada fought against the former WBA world lightweight champion Claude Noel to knock him out in the fourth round at the Korakuen Hall on September 9. He gained the Japanese lightweight title on December 2 of that year. In 1985, after setting a Japanese record of fifteen consecutive knockout wins,{{Cite web|author=Hisao Adachi|date=March 15, 2007|url=http://www.notifight.com/artman2/publish/Reporte_7/Hamada_asume_cargo_en_Teiken_Promotion_3468.php|title=¡Hamada asume cargo en Teiken Promotion!|publisher=NotiFight.com|language=Spanish|accessdate=August 2, 2010}} he also captured the OPBF lightweight title in Naha, Okinawa, in the next fight on July 7. However, as he had damaged the meniscus of his right knee before that match,{{Cite magazine |author=Seiichi Ashizawa |script-title=ja:ボクシング写真画報: サムライ・ファイター浜田剛史 |date=June 30, 1993 |magazine=World Boxing |language=ja |pages=136–137}} his boxing career was interrupted again. Originally Hamada excelled in the left cross, but during a long period that he underwent medical treatment for his fist injury, he intensively practiced the right hook which brought him a championship belt.

On July 24, 1986, Hamada moved up in weight division and knocked out René Arredondo who exceeded him four inches respectively in height and reach,{{cite news|author=UPI|date=July 24, 1986|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nsRBAAAAIBAJ&pg=3283,1884752|title=Sports in brief – Boxing|newspaper=Point Pleasant Register|page=6|accessdate=January 5, 2011|author-link=United Press International}} in the first round to gain the WBC world junior welterweight title.{{cite news|date=July 25, 1986|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/475315701.html?FMT=ABS|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105012651/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/475315701.html?FMT=ABS|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2012|title=Champ goes down|newspaper=Toronto Star|page=F8|accessdate=January 5, 2011}} In his first defense on December 2 of that year, he beat Ronnie Shields who had 270 amateur fights including a victory over Thomas Hearns,{{Sfn|Baseball Magazine Sha|2002|p=256}} by a split decision.{{cite news|author=UPI|date=December 3, 1986|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=h8EyAAAAIBAJ&pg=5707,1548580|title=Welterweight champ wins|newspaper=Ottawa Citizen|page=D8|accessdate=January 5, 2011}} On July 22, 1987, he rematched Arredondo in his second defense where he lost the title via a sixth-round technical knockout.{{cite news|date=July 23, 1987|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/472907671.html?FMT=ABS|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131211808/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/472907671.html?FMT=ABS|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013|title=Mexican reclaims WBC title|newspaper=Toronto Star|page=D9|accessdate=January 5, 2011}}{{cite news|author=AP|date=July 23, 1987|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iQYyAAAAIBAJ&pg=5318,3551925|title=Arredondo regains title|newspaper=Ocala Star-Banner|page=2C|accessdate=January 5, 2011|author-link=Associated Press}} Those three world title matches were all held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, and one million spectators altogether attended them.{{Sfn|Baseball Magazine Sha|2002|p=256–257}} He aimed at the recapture of the title, but opted for retirement, because his right knee injury did not recover and because Arredondo had been no longer a champion after losing to Roger Mayweather in his first defense.

=Personal life and post-retirement=

The following anecdote shows the strength of his intention. Three months before the fight for the world title in 1986, a meniscus injury which requires a surgery was discovered as a result of the arthroscopy of his right knee. Although Hamada was aware that the anesthetic effect would not persist, he asked a doctor to do it immediately and had surgery without complaining of a pain. As of twenty years after retirement, his knee still aches. "My body is always painful. I recognize being painful is my body, so I am all right," Hamada says with smile.{{Cite web|author=Akio Sato (sports journalist)|date=June 14, 2010|url=http://akiosato.blog49.fc2.com/blog-entry-29.html|script-title=ja:“ラストサムライ”の意志力|publisher=akiosato.blog|language=Japanese|accessdate=February 20, 2011}}

Currently Hamada is a commentator of the boxing broadcast on Nippon Television{{Cite web|url=http://www.ntv.co.jp/dynamic-g/ana/index.html|title=NTV BOXING PROGRAM ダイナミック・グローブ – 解説・実況アナ紹介|publisher=Nippon Television|language=Japanese|accessdate=August 14, 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722094300/http://www.ntv.co.jp/dynamic-g/ana/index.html|archivedate=July 22, 2011}} and WOWOW.{{Cite web|url=http://www.wowow.co.jp/sports/excite/staff/|script-title=ja:ボクシング「エキサイトマッチ」｜出演者紹介|publisher=WOWOW|language=Japanese|accessdate=August 14, 2010}} He monthly writes a review which analyzes the world's leading boxers for the Japanese boxing magazine Boxing Beat,{{Cite web|url=http://www.wowow.co.jp/sports/excite/watch/|script-title=ja:ボクシング「エキサイトマッチ」｜浜田剛史の世界トップ選手ウォッチ|publisher=WOWOW|language=Japanese|accessdate=August 14, 2010}} and is also the representative director of the company that manufactures and sells health foods and supplements. Since March 14, 2007, he is the representative of the Teiken Promotions that is a relevant organization to the Teiken Boxing Gym to which he had belonged during his career as a boxer.

The main protagonist of the manga Hajime no Ippo, Makunouchi Ippo is loosely based on Hamada.

References

Bibliography

{{Cite book|editor=Boxing Magazine editorial department|title=日本プロボクシング史世界タイトルマッチで見る50年 (Japan Pro Boxing History – 50 Years of World Title Bouts)|date=May 31, 2002|publisher=Baseball Magazine Sha Co., Ltd.|location=Tokyo, Japan|language=Japanese|isbn=978-4-583-03695-3|pages=256–257, 297|ref={{Harvid|Baseball Magazine Sha|2002}}}}