January 13, 2004
TOKYO, JAPAN-A farewell ceremony was held in commemoration of the late Yoshio Shirai, Japan’s first world champion who passed away on December 26, at the St. Andere Church on Wednesday afternoon in Tokyo, Japan. Our twenty-four world champs such as Hiroshi Kobayashi, Gutts Ishimatsu, Koichi Wajima, Shozo Saijo, Yoko Gushiken, Tsuyoshi Hamada, etc. attended the ceremony along with influential promoters Akihiko Honda, Hitoshi Misako and Kenji Yonekura. The commissioner of Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) Yuko Hayashi made a funeral address. Some seven hundred persons were in attendance to express our condolence and appreciation of his contribution to our boxing world.
Yoshio Shirai was a symbol of Japan’s resurgence after the World War II. Shirai’s coronation as the first world champion in 1952 was a great stipulation toward the dejection and discouragement of the Japanese nation.
It was symbolic that Shirai was cultivated and managed by an American scholar named Dr. Alvin R. Cahn who served as a nutritional advisor in the GHQ (General Headquarters) presided by General McArthur. Dr. Cahn took a walk and made a glance at a boxing gym, where Shirai was training. Shirai, a lanky 5’6” flyweight, was just 12-3-3, 7 KOs when Dr. Cahn met Shirai for the first time on July 15, 1948. He was 24, and was considering a retirement due to his long-time lumbago. Dr. Cahn had been a coach of amateur wrestling in Illinois University, and showed interests in handling the skinny boxer. Shirai became so much motivated that he began to improve greatly and won the Japanese national belt by demolishing Yoichiro Hanada with a wicked body shot in the fifth round on January 28, 1949.
Shirai also gained the national bantam title by whipping Hiroshi Horiguchi (whose overall record was 80-10-9, 23 KOs) over ten heats on December 15 that year. Shirai kept the fly and bantam belts by defending in both divisions to become one of the best prospects in Japan. On May 21, 1951, Shirai was given an opportunity to exchange gloves with the then world flyweight champ Dado Marino in a non-title bout. Shirai showed a good performance, though losing on points. Dr. Cahn then accompanied Shirai to Hawaii, where he scored an upset seventh round TKO win over Marino by dropping him six times in another non-title affair on December 4 that year.
On May 19, 1952, Shirai had a crack at the world flyweight throne against Dado Marino before some 40,000 spectators at the Korakuen Baseball Stadium. It was the very first world title bout held in this country. Sam Ichinose, a Japanese-American manager of Marino in Hawaii, rendered a world title shot to the up-and-coming Japanese prospect. Shirai, a tall and stylish boxer, outboxed and outpunched the aging champ Marino to win a unanimous 15-round decision to capture the world belt. The national excitement and jubilation was beyond description. Shirai became the national hero, and gave the encouragement to all the people under poverty and depression.
Shirai kept the belt on four occasions, beating Marino, Tanny Campo, Terry Allen and Leo Espinoza to his credit. Shirai made a foreign campaign in Argentina, where he was held to a draw by unbeaten ex-Olympic gold medalist Pascual Perez in Buenos Aires on July 24, 1954. Shirai faced Perez with his title at stake only to lose his title by a 15-round decision in Tokyo on November 26 that year. Shirai attempted to win back his belt only to be finished by Perez in five lopsided rounds on May 30, 1955. On his way back to the dressing room, Shirai and Dr. Cahn agreed to hang up gloves for good. It was his final bout with an excellent mark of 48-10-2, 20 KOs. Shirai avenged all his defeats in a rematch except that to Pascual Perez.
After his retirement Shirai led a wealthy life, living with his wife Toshiko, his sons and Dr. Cahn together. He served as a popular TV commentator in many boxing programs. He sometimes coached young boxers such as Kenji Yonekura (who later had an unsuccessful but grueling crack at Jose Becerra in 1960) and Katsuo Saito, etc. Dr. Cahn didn’t return to the US and gave all his property to his sole and beloved pupil Shirai, who took care of him until he passed away on January 24, 1971.
Shirai was a modest gentleman to be respected and loved by everybody. Shirai became the honorary president of Shirai-Gushiken Gym eight years ago, and it was a great fun for him to give technical advices to youngsters there. Shirai, who died at 80, was the symbol of the Japanese boxing. We will never forget his greatest contribution to the current prosperity and tradition as well of our boxing fraternity. God bless him.