Toshihiko Matsuda: Boxing Career and Major Results
The available fight record identifies Toshihiko Matsuda as a Japanese professional boxer who challenged for a world title in 1987. Before the bout, Matsuda was 1–0, according to Asian Boxing, which documents his matchup with IBF light-flyweight champion Jum Hwan Choi.
The 1987 IBF Title Challenge
On July 5, 1987, Matsuda met Choi in Seoul for Choi’s IBF light-flyweight championship. The contemporary United Press International report says Choi knocked Matsuda out at 1:01 of the fourth round and retained the title. Asian Boxing’s account gives the fighters’ pre-bout records as Choi 16–1 and Matsuda 1–0, describing Matsuda as a little-known Japanese challenger.
What the Record Supports
The documented title challenge is the clearest verifiable highlight in Matsuda’s professional boxing career. The available contemporary report and bout history do not support claims that he won a featherweight championship in 1985, made multiple title defenses, or retired in 1995. His contest with Choi instead places him among the challengers who tested the champion during Choi’s IBF light-flyweight reign.
Matsuda’s title challenge stands out because it came so early in his professional career: the cited pre-fight record was only 1–0. Choi’s fourth-round knockout ended the contest and preserved the champion’s belt. The available record supports that specific bout as a career highlight, while offering too little evidence to build a broader championship résumé around it.
Sources
Career records and reporting: boxrec.com.
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
