Hajime no Ippo 30th Anniversary Featherweight Tournament (はじめのいっぽさんじゅうしゅうねんきねんフェザーきゅうトーナメント) is a Class A Pro Boxing tournament for featherweight boxers in Japan that is organised by Dangan Boxing and sponsored by Jōji Morikawa as part of the 30th anniversary of the Hajime no Ippo series.[1]
Introduction[]
In April 26, 2019,[2] Jōji Morikawa announced that he would be sponsoring a featherweight boxing tournament along with Dangan Boxing. It would be similar to the Class A Tournament that Makunouchi Ippo took part in the story. Morikawa's goal was to use the tournament to help promote the sport of boxing to a younger audience, and to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the manga series. The winner of the tournament will receive a 1 million yen prize, and a supplementary prize, where he will appear in the manga series. In October 2019[3], Morikawa participated in a lottery drawing for the seven boxers that are in the tournament to determine the seeding for it. There is 3 foreign boxers (from China, South Korea, and Philippines) and 4 boxer from Japan taking part in it.
It was announced that Dangan 234 would feature the semi-final round of the tournament for February 27th at the Kōrakuen Hall, where it will also feature an OPBF title match for the vacant welterweight title for Riku Nagahama (11-2-1, 4) [長濱 陸] vs. Kudura Kaneko (11-0, 8) [クドゥラ 金子].
On February 26, 2020[4], JBC announced they planned to suspend all boxing matches during a 1 month period, nationwide from March 1st due to the to the outbreak of the coronavirus. However, Dangan 234 was still going to be held on February 27, 2020. Additional measure would be taken the day of the match including - Discontinuation of sales of tickets on the day; Cancel exhibition plans, on-site decoration, and ceremonies; and a thorough disinfection of visitors' hands and fingers, and wearing masks.
On February 27, 2020, it was announced that the semi-final of the tournament would be held at Kōrakuen Hall, where Shingo Kusano (草野慎悟) and Daisuke Watanabe (渡部大介) won. The two sides would meet in the final match scheduled for May 17, 2020 at Sumida City General Gymnasium.
On March 27, 2020, Dangan Boxing announced that as a decision to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Dangan decided to cancel the two tournaments scheduled at Sumida-ku General Gymnasium on May 16th and 17th. For matches scheduled for those days, including the Japan Super Flyweight Title Match and the 30th anniversary Featherweight Tournament Final, they would announce the schedule while keeping a close eye on the situation in the form of postponement.[5]
On June 5, 2020, Dangan Boxing announced that the tournament finals would be held at Kōrakuen Hall on August 22, 2020. A crowdfunding was held in order to help with the expenses.[6] On June 12, 2020, in celebration of reaching 20% on the crowdfunding, Dangan Boxing held a raffle on Twitter where 10 individuals have a chance of winning a T-shirt by following their account and retweeting their tweet.[7] On July 5, 2020, the goal was reached on the final day of the crowdfunding.[8]
Crowd-Funded Final[]
See website for more details: https://camp-fire.jp/projects/view/281179
Due to the Coronavirus, they could not decide whether they can put their customers in or hold the event for the finals. In the case of boxing events that do not have televised on air, it is not normal for non-spectator matches where ticket revenue is not earned, which is the main income for the match. Since both boxers who won the tournament and fans, they decided to resume the finals were moved to Saturday, August 22, 2020 in Kōrakuen Hall. In some situation, they may be able to hold events for online customers. In the case of a live audience, they would thoroughly prevent infections and sell tickets for limited the number of fans for it, but at the moment they are preparing for a non-spectator match. In order to cover the cost of the match, they did a crowdfunding for it which lasted from June 5, 2020 to July 5, 2020. The crowdfunding goal was met on the final day.
Expenses[]
The 5,000,000 yen ($45,500) crowd funding target was to cover expense for:
- The Venue
- Sound, Lighting, Operating Expenses
- Contestants Fight Money
- Poster Pamphlets production fee
- Live Streaming-related expenses
- Return Production Costs
- CAMPFIRE Settlement fee
Prizes[]
There were nine types of return and return goods are available depending on the amount of money from 3,000 yen to 1.2 million yen. Some of returns offered for the crowd funding:
- Live Broadcasting viewing rights with voice commentary by Morikawa Jouji.It is also scheduled to be broadcast live for a fee on the video distribution service BOXING RAISE.
- A Takamura Mamoru 4-frame T-shirt. A black and white T-shirt designed with a 4 frame cartoon by Morikawa during the self-imposed period. It is only offered for crowd funding, and not for general sale.
- Support Avatar Panel - For the boxers, who fight in the ring, the presence and support of the people who cheer in the hall is a great help. However, due to the limit amount of tickets that might be sold, they have decided to post a support panel for supporters in the audience so that the players could feel that they were supporting them even a little in such an environment. The panel will include the name of the supporter (nickname is also acceptable), photos and illustrations of the supporter, or the character that appeared in the first step of your choice. By all means, please post your support panel and send all to the players.
- Dream Sparring Rights - Under the guidance of a professional trainer, you will receive personal training and diet management for a month and a half, and you will have a strong body that can move while on a diet. As a result of the training, on the same day as the match on August 22, you will be sparring with the reigning Japanese and Eastern champions on the ring at Kōrakuen Hall. The boxer of the sparring opponent will be decided after consulting after taking into consideration the weight etc. The state of the sparring is broadcast live, and it is also possible to have acquaintances see on the net. In addition, from the start of the training to the sparring, we will take a picture and edit it, and deliver it at a later date in a memorable manner.
- The trainer is JB Sports Gym's Yamada Takeshi. Personal training is provided by face-to-face instruction once a week, online instruction three times a week, and meal management. The training location and schedule will be decided after consultation.
Video[]
Tournament Details[]
Date and Location[]
The first and semi-final round are only 6 rounds long, and the finals is set for 8 rounds.
- Quarter-Finals (DANGAN 230) - November 19, 2019 in Kōrakuen Hall
- Semi-Final Round (DANGAN 234) - February 27, 2020 in Kōrakuen Hall
- Finals (DANGAN 235) - August 22, 2020 in Kōrakuen Hall
Tournament Bracket[]
| Hajime no Ippo 30th Anniversary Featherweight Tournament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quarter-Finals Matches | Semi-Final Round Matches | Finals |
| Tsuyoshi Tameda vs. Jae Woo Lee |
Jae Woo Lee vs. Shingo Kusano |
Shingo Kusano vs. Daisuke Watanabe |
| Shingo Kusano vs. Qiang Ma | ||
| Koshin Takeshima vs. Daisuke Watanabe |
Daisuke Watanabe vs. Richard Pumicpic | |
| Richard Pumicpic vs. Bye | ||
| Winner - Daisuke Watanabe[9] | ||
Note - The undercard match prior to the first round matches in the Tournament is Masahiro Suzuki (鈴木雅弘)(3-0, 2), who will be up against fellow Japanese fighter Hokuto Matsumoto (松本北斗)(5-2, 1).[10]
Boxer Details[]
| Hajime no Ippo 30th Anniversary Featherweight Tournament | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Boxer's Name | Boxing Gym | Record | Notes |
| Tsuyoshi Tameda
[11] |
Ohashi Boxing Gym (大橋ボクシングジム) |
(21-4-2, 19) | Ranked 7th in JBC, Former Japanese Youth Champion |
| Jae Woo Lee
[12] |
South Korea | (6-2-0, 5) | Korean KBM Featherweight Champion |
| Shingo Kusano
[13] |
Sansako Boxking Gym (三迫ボクシングジム) |
(11-8-1, 4) | |
| Qiang Ma
[14] |
China | (5-1-2, 3) | WBO Great China Featherweight title |
| Koshin Takeshima
[15] |
Matsuda Boxing Gym (松田ジム所属) |
(4-0-0, 3) | |
| Daisuke Watanabe
[16] |
Watanabe Boxing Gym (ワタナベボクシングジム) |
(9-4-1, 6) | |
| Richard Pumicpic
[17] |
Philippines | (21-10-2, 6) | Former WBO OPBF Champion |
Results[]
Quarter Finals[]
Morikawa with all the Boxers in the Tournament
In the first match, Jae Woo Lee defeated Tsuyoshi Tameda in an intense back and forth by slugging it out. In the 3rd round, Tameda received a cut above his left eye. The cut made him take more risks, but he was knocked down instead. After he got up, he went into another exchange with Jae Woo Lee, but the match was stopped by the ref after the cut on Tameda started bleeding a lot. Lee won by TKO in the 3rd, and advanced into the semi-finals.
In the second match, Shingo Kusano fought Qiang Ma. Kusano was knocked down twice in the first round. Ma continued to pressure through the round and seemed on the verge of a stoppage win, but Kusano managed to settle to his rhythm, and he hurt Ma early in round 5. Ma never really managed to recover, tiring instead as he lost his form and was dropped. Although he got back to his feet Kusano refused to let off and forced the referee in to save an exhausted looking Ma.
The third match, Koshin Takeshima fought Daisuke Watanabe. The match ended in a technical draw. In round 2, Takeshima suffered a cut. The cut didn't force an immediate halt but did worsen as the bout went on and forced the referee to stop the contest in round 4. With the bout being stopped we went to the scores cards, with scores of 38-38, 37-39 and 39-38 causing a technical draw. Due to the scoring rules of the tournament it was Watanabe, who had the 39-37 card in his favour, that advances to the final 4.[18]
Semi-Finals[]
The semi-final of the "Hajime no Ippo 30th Anniversary Featherweight Tournament" was held on February 27, 2020 at Kōrakuen Hall, where Shingo Kusano and Daisuke Watanabe won. The two sides would meet in the final match scheduled for May 17, 2020 at Sumida City General Gymnasium.[19] However, the date for the finals moved to August 22, 2020 at the Kōrakuen Hall due to a delay caused by the coronavirus.
Former WBO AP champion Pumikpic used his horsepower to swing right straight and left hook swung powerfully from the first inning. Watanabe also countered with a right straight and a left hook. From the first time, each other's punches were mixed. Watanabe started hitting the midfield and left body, and Pumikpic slowed down little by little. The accuracy of Watanabe's punches was not high because of his body work, but he scored a right with good timing at key points. Pumikpic showed his strength and strength until the end, but Watanabe, who was more aggressive and surpassed with stamina, won. Watanabe has won 10 games and lost 6 KO5.
Southpaw's Kusano moved his legs well and jabbed first, left, and made it a development where Lee didn't swing a bang. Kusano caught up with Lee several times and finished in the seventh inning with two good right sprees, but without losing pace until the end. Kusano, who was focused on winning the match despite the little action, won 13 games, 5 KO8 losses and 1 minute. Lee, who was unable to attack, won seven games and lost 6 KO3.
Finals[]
The "Hajime no Ippo 30th Anniversary Featherweight Tournament" final between the JBC fourth ranker, Daisuke Watanabe and southpaw Shingo Kusano was held on August 22, 2020 at Kōrakuen Hall. JB gym's Morikawa and Yamada Takeshi gave live commentary for the match.
In the eight round match, Kusano started strong, connecting with his left and right straights. In-fighter Watanbe wanted to close the distance, making a success in the third round. In the fifth round, Watanbe gave Kusano a down with a right straight. The two lasted through the end of the eighth round, tired. When the match ended, Watanbe won by decision, hoping to get a shot at a title next year.
Watanbe won the prize of one million yen and the right to appear in the Hajime no Ippo manga as a character, making his debut in Round 1332.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Morikawa Jouji made the announce for the tournament at his boxing gym, JB Sports Gym.
- To help promote the tournament, they sold individual colour coated t-shirts for each boxer in it, where the fans wear the colour that they want to support.
- Standard Tournament - Black
- Tsuyoshi Tameda - Light Blue
- Jae Woo Lee - Light Purple
- Shingo Kusano - Red
- Qiang Ma - Light Yellow
- Koshin Takeshima - Orange
- Daisuke Watanabe - White
- Richard Pumicpic - Green
- At Kōrakuen Hall, various posters and artwork of Morikawa were displayed during the tournament.
- The first 1500 people to arrive received a pamphlet with a collection of Hajime no Ippo Proverbs, and a booklet with part of the JBC featherweight title match between Makunouchi Ippo vs. Sendō Takeshi.
- There were interactive displays at the tournament, where fans can recreate the match poster of Kimura Tatsuya vs. Mashiba Ryō
- At the start of the match, the theme song from the anime played while introducing the various boxers in Morikawa.