Masashi Kudo (boxer)

Masashi Kudo (工藤 政志, Kudō Masashi, born August 24, 1951) is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 1979. He held the WBA and lineal super welterweight titles from 1978 to 1979.

Masashi Kudo
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
NationalityJapanese
Born (1951-08-24) August 24, 1951
Gojōme, Akita, Japan
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights24
Wins23
Wins by KO12
Losses1

Biography

Kudo was an amateur wrestler during high school, and only became a professional boxer when he failed to join the Japanese Olympic wrestling team for the 1972 Munich Olympics. He made his professional debut in May, 1973, and won the Japanese middleweight title in his 6th professional fight. He defended the title 8 times before returning it to Japanese Boxing Commission.

In 1978, he moved down to the light middleweight division to challenge Eddie Gazo for the WBA and lineal light middleweight titles. Kudo won by 15 round split-decision, becoming the second Japanese boxer to capture the world light middleweight crown since Koichi Wajima.[1]

Kudo defended his title three times including against Korean contender Ho Joo,[2] before losing to undefeated challenger Ayub Kalule by unanimous decision for his only professional loss.[3] He announced his retirement after the fight at only 28 years of age. His record was 23-1-0 (12KOs).

Kudo was possibly one of the least technically skilled champions in boxing history. He compensated for his lack of skill by displaying an enormous amount of stamina and strength, and retired without suffering a single knockdown.


Professional boxing record
24 fights 23 wins 1 loss
By knockout 12 0
By decision 11 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
24 Loss 23–1 Ayub Kalule UD 15 Oct 24, 1979 City Gymnasium, Akita City, Akita, Japan Lost WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
23 Win 23–0 Manuel Ricardo Gonzalez TKO 12 (15) Jun 20, 1979 City Gymnasium, Yokkaichi, Mie, Japan Retained WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
22 Win 22–0 Manuel Ricardo Gonzalez MD 15 May 14, 1979 Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
21 Win 21–0 Ho Joo SD 15 Dec 13, 1978 Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan Retained WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
20 Win 20–0 Eddie Gazo SD 15 Aug 9, 1978 City Gymnasium, Akita City, Akita, Japan Won WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
19 Win 19–0 Katsuo Esashi PTS 10 May 2, 1978 Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
18 Win 18–0 Katsuo Esashi RTD 3 (10) Oct 31, 1977 Japan
17 Win 17–0 Peter Nanboku KO 9 (10) Sep 6, 1977 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
16 Win 16–0 Saburo Sakai KO 7 (10) Jul 2, 1977 Kumagaya, Japan
15 Win 15–0 Yuichiro Watanabe PTS 10 May 3, 1977 Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
14 Win 14–0 Saburo Sakai KO 9 (10) Jan 30, 1977 Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
13 Win 13–0 Nessie Horiguchi PTS 10 Sep 26, 1976 Japan
12 Win 12–0 Yuichiro Watanabe KO 3 (10) Jun 27, 1976 Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
11 Win 11–0 Saburo Sakai KO 1 (10) Mar 28, 1976 Japan
10 Win 10–0 Takeshi Izumi KO 4 (10) Jan 27, 1976 Okinawa, Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
9 Win 9–0 Yuji Miyagoshi UD 10 Nov 30, 1975 Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
8 Win 8–0 Yuji Miyagoshi PTS 10 Jul 18, 1975 Japan Retained Japanese middleweight title
7 Win 7–0 Takeshi Watanabe PTS 10 Jun 1, 1975 Japan
6 Win 6–0 Nobuyoshi Ozaki PTS 10 Mar 2, 1975 Japan Won vacant Japanese middleweight title
5 Win 5–0 Cassius Naito PTS 10 Jul 29, 1974 Gifu, Japan
4 Win 4–0 Seiji Nagai KO 4 (4) Dec 27, 1973 Japan
3 Win 3–0 Hachiro Kuroishi KO 2 (4) Dec 3, 1973 Japan
2 Win 2–0 Keiji Miyawaki KO 3 (4) Sep 30, 1973 Japan
1 Win 1–0 Toshio Oki RTD 3 (4) May 18, 1973 Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

See also

References
  1. "Masashi Kudo - Lineal Junior Middleweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  2. "Japan: Junior Middleweight Title Fight". British Pathé. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  3. "FIGHTING THE RULERS OF THE WBA". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
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