Daisuke Naitō (内藤 大助, Naitō Daisuke) is a retired professional boxer from Japan. He is the former WBC and lineal flyweight champion, and former Japanese and OPBF flyweight champion.
In his first defence as the WBC flyweight champion, he won in a perfect match against Daiki Kameda, the second son of the Kameda brothers, winning a decision. It led to national popularity.[1]
Trivia[]
Volume 84 - Daisuke with Morikawa.
- Daisuke visited Jōji Morikawa in a video[2], prior to one of his matches. The meeting was mentioned and a photo of him and Morikawa appeared in volume 84's author's note image.
- Daisuke is mentioned in Hajime no Ippo: Best Memorial.
- The book mentions how Daisuke was training at Morikawa's gym when he was a fourth rounder, and in those days, things were different. At that time, Morikawa couldn't get any sparring sessions for him in his weight class, the flyweight class. He would go up against a boxer two or more weight classes above him and dominate them. Morikawa thought, "If this guy doesn't win in the world stage, who can?"
- Daisuke is considered to be a real life Ippo Makunouchi. During junior high school, Daisuke had a hard time because he became a target for bullying. Instead of asking for help, he endured the bullying until he entered high school.
- Later, while living in Tokyo, after being inspired by a boxing magazine that he saw a bookstore, he decided join the local boxing gym (Miyata Boxing Gym) near his boarding house. Daisuke commented on the motivation for starting boxing, "I was afraid that I might meet a bully when I returned home, but if I go to the gym I can be strong in fights. Even if I can not get strong, I'm going to the gym" In other words, I thought I could scare the bully." However, his mother, who did not like martial arts, scolded him that "savage sports are no good" and was given a dismissal.
- Daisuke appears in a promo video[3] for the second season of the Hajime no Ippo anime, where he was shown performing the final attack pattern that Ippo did against Takeshi Sendō where Ippo threw a Liver blow, and a Dempsey Roll to win.
- Daisuke is a big fan of Hajime no Ippo, having been interviewed in Weekly Shōnen Magazine, and has talked with several mangaka. He has expressed an interested in becoming a mangaka.
- Daisuke appears in series 3 of We became stronger with manga ~SPORTS x MANGA~ (ぼくらはマンガで強くなった〜SPORTS×MANGA〜)[4], episode on Retirement (引退), where he talks about Hajime no Ippo, and retiring after boxing.