## NOBUTOSHI HIRANAKA PASSES AWAY BY CAR ACCIDENT

March 24, 2000
OKINAWA, JAPAN-Ex-world challenger and ex-Japanese national feather champ NOBUTOSHI HIRANAKA, 31, passed away by a car accident in his native Okinawa at about 11:00 pm yesterday (March 23).

After his daily training at Okinawa World Ring Gym, he dined with his friends and drove his car by himself to collide with an electric pole. Hiranaka died on the spot due to the damage on the head.

Nobutoshi was the younger brother of ex-WBA super-light champ Akinobu who had dethroned Edwin Chapo Rosario by a first round stoppage in Mexico in 1992.

The hard-punching lefty Nobutoshi turned pro in 1988 after his excellent amateur record of 45-5, 37 stoppages. He was unbeaten in 15 bouts until he made a courageous but unsuccessful attempt to win the WBA featherweight throne from Venezuelan Eloy Rojas only to lose on points in August, 1995. Prior to this title crack, Hiranaka had captured the Japanese national throne by dropping defending champ Koji Matsumoto in the 10th and final session en route to a unanimous decision in Tokyo, 1994. He defended it twice, beating Yoshikazu Tamasaki and Takashi Murata that year.

The ambitious southpaw had another shot at the world title, as he fought the then WBC feather champ Luisito Espinosa in Fukuoka but lost via an 8th round TKO in November, 1996.

The game and durable crowd-pleaser, Nobutoshi was rendered an opportunity to fight for the title on four occasions thereafter, since our promoters always loved his popularity to draw a good crowd. Hiranaka, a rough-and-tumble battler, failed to win the Oriental & Pacific Boxing Federation's (OPBF's) super-feather title from lefty Yamato Mitani on a unanimous nod in Tokyo in March, 1998.

Nobutoshi wasn't successful in winning the same OPBF throne from the new titlist Kengo Nagashima (who had dethroned Mitani) despite dropping him only to lose by a close decision in October that year.

He had a crack at the Japanese 130-pound title against Koji Arisawa in Tokyo in March of the previous year. Hiranaka exploded his solid left and had the champ on the deck, but lost a hairline verdict over 10. The gutsy lefty from Okinawa was given another shot at Arisawa's title only to succumb on a seemingly premature stoppage in the 4th last December.

His overall record was 18-6-1, 11 KOs.

This reporter has booked him in a card in Guam in June, along with his hard-hitting stablemate Shigeru Nakazato, having sent back the contracts to the local promoter. I am really shocked by this pathetic news.

We sincerely mourn the sorrowful farewell to the ring warfare of the mustached fighter who always showed his physical and spiritual best to win the game from our bottom of hearts. We have missed the Fighter.

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