Ex-World Lightweight Boxing Champ Guts Ishimatsu Dies at 76

Tokyo, June 11 (Jiji Press)–Former professional boxer Guts Ishimatsu, who became the first Japanese world lightweight champion, died of pneumonia at a hospital in Tokyo on June 2, it was learned Thursday. He was 76. The boxer, whose real name was Yuji Suzuki, was a native of Tochigi Prefecture in eastern Japan. He made his professional debut in 1966. He unsuccessfully challenged Panamanian boxer Roberto Duran for the World Boxing Association’s lightweight title, before clinching the lightweight title of the World Boxing Council in 1974. Ishimatsu defended the WBC title five times, and finished his career with a record of 31 wins, including 17 knockouts, 14 losses and six draws. He was known for his powerful right-hand punches. After retiring from boxing, Ishimatsu appeared in many television programs and films. He coined the popular catchphrase “OK bokujo,” meaning “Everything is all right.” He ran unsuccessfully in the 1996 election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Japan’s parliament. Ishimatsu was a founding member and inaugural chief of the Boxing World Champions Club Japan, which comprises Japanese boxers who have won world titles. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]