TOKYO — Two professional boxers have died from brain injuries sustained in separate bouts during the same boxing event in Tokyo, marking a rare tragedy that has shaken the Japanese boxing community, officials confirmed Sunday.
Super featherweight Shigetoshi Kotari and lightweight Hiromasa Urakawa, both 28 years old, fought on the same card at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall on August 2 before both were rushed to hospitals where they underwent emergency brain surgery.
Kotari, who battled to a draw after 12 grueling rounds against fellow Japanese fighter Yamato Hata, lost consciousness shortly after the match concluded. He “passed away at 10:59 pm on August 8,” according to a statement posted Saturday on his M.T boxing gym’s website.
“He did his best to fight his way through the surgery and treatment he had been receiving at a Tokyo hospital due to acute subdural haematoma,” the gym’s announcement read.
Urakawa was stopped in the eighth and final round of his match against Yoji Saito and “tragically succumbed to injuries sustained during his fight,” the World Boxing Organization said in an Instagram post Sunday. Local media reported Urakawa died Saturday night.
“This heartbreaking news comes just days after the passing of Shigetoshi Kotari, who died from injuries suffered in his fight on the same card,” the WBO said, extending “our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and the Japanese boxing community.”
Tsuyoshi Yasukochi, secretary-general of the Japan Boxing Commission, told local media following the boxers’ hospitalization that it was likely “the first time in Japan two fighters underwent skull-opening surgery for injuries stemming from the same event.”
The double tragedy has prompted renewed discussion about safety protocols in combat sports in Japan, where boxing remains popular despite its inherent risks. Both boxers were in the prime of their careers, having competed at the professional level for several years.
