Kazuyoshi Kanazawa: Oriental Bantamweight Champion
Kazuyoshi Kanazawa was a Japanese bantamweight boxer whose professional career ran from 1965 to 1972. Born on November 8, 1946, he won the Oriental bantamweight championship and challenged Rubén Olivares for the WBA and WBC world titles.
Career and championship record
Kanazawa first met Olivares in January 1969, before the Mexican became world champion. Olivares won that non-title contest by second-round stoppage. Kanazawa subsequently recorded wins over Jesús Pimentel and José Medel during the same year.
On July 2, 1971, Kanazawa knocked out Yong Hwan Son in the fifth round to win the vacant Oriental bantamweight title, sanctioned by the OBF, the predecessor of the OPBF. He later relinquished that regional championship.
His rematch with Olivares took place in Nagoya on October 25, 1971. This time the WBA and WBC bantamweight world championships were at stake. Olivares retained them by knockout in round fourteen of the scheduled fifteen-round contest. The bout received Japan’s best-fight award for 1971.
Kanazawa fought once more, losing to Romeo Anaya by fifth-round knockout in February 1972. His compiled record comprises thirty wins, ten defeats and one draw, with seventeen knockout victories. The Oriental title and the long Olivares rematch were the principal championship events of his career.
Sources
Related reading: Boxing · Boxing Library Japanese boxer profile · Boxerlist record
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
