| This article only covers series-related information on Hidekazu Akai |
Hidekazu Akai (赤井英和, Hidekazu Akai) is a Japanese actor and former Pro Boxer. After becoming a professional bpxer , Akai won the Junior Welterweight All Japan Rookie King Tournament by 3RKO against Ozaki Fujio in the 4th All Japan Rookie King final match. Since his debut, he had 12 straight KO wins. It achieved the feat of winning consecutive knockouts, and was nicknamed "Nanwa no Rocky" due to his match style. It was said that acquiring the World Title Match with a bang was a matter of time, and the comment of the unique interview after the match was popular, and it was attracting attention until it was taken up by the national broadcast even though it was a non-title battle. Akai was more popular and famous than Jirō Watanabe, the world champion from Kansai at the time.
He compiled a 19-2 (16) record between 1980 and 1985 with the highlight of his career being a 1983 world title fight against Bruce Curry, a bout that ended with Curry beating him in round 7. Although Akai's career came to an end before he got the chance to fulfill his promise, ending in 1985 following a brain hemmorhage, he was a popular fighter who had excited fans in Japan.
References in Hajime no Ippo[]
- In Round 178, during Takamura Mamoru's Middleweight JBC Title Match against Tamaki Atsushi, the ring announcer mentioned that if Takamura won the match with a KO, he would break the Japanese record held by Akai Hidekazui for most consecutive KO's from their debut match.
- The match was Takamura 13th straight match with a KO win. As of Round 1290, Takamura has won 26 straight matches with a KO win.
Trivia[]
- Takeshi Sendō's nickname, "Rocky of Naniwa" (Naniwa no Rocky), comes from him.