Chikara Igarashi: Boxing Career and Results
Japanese flyweight Chikara Igarashi challenged South Korea’s Park Chan-hee for the WBC world title in Seoul on May 20, 1979. Park retained the championship with a unanimous decision over 15 rounds.
A Japanese flyweight in the 1970s
Igarashi’s recorded professional career began in March 1971. BoxerList totals his results at seventeen wins, nineteen losses and ten draws, reflecting a lengthy schedule with several rematches and full-distance contests.
During 1978, he defeated Hong Soo Yang by majority decision at Korakuen Hall and later beat Koichi Maki on points. A draw with Jiro Takada in Yokohama in March 1979 preceded his world championship opportunity in South Korea.
The Park challenge in context
Park had taken the WBC flyweight championship from Miguel Canto in March 1979. The meeting with Igarashi two months later was therefore an early defense of the new champion’s reign. Igarashi completed all fifteen rounds, but Park retained the title on the judges’ cards.
Igarashi continued competing afterward. He faced Tae-Shik Kim in Seoul in November 1979 and Shoji Oguma at Korakuen Hall the following month, losing both by knockout. His final listed contest was a points defeat against Hong Soo Yang in Otsu in March 1980.
The embedded Park bout captures one important international appearance within that wider career. The dated results distinguish his world title challenge from the domestic and overseas contests that came before and after it.
Sources
- Igarashi: career record and dated results
- WBC flyweight title history
- Sport & Note bout record
Career records and reporting: boxrec.com.
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
