Boxing: Ex-champ Ginjiro Shigeoka has brain surgery, set to retire
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese boxer Ginjiro Shigeoka has undergone brain surgery in the wake of his IBF world minimumweight title defeat, the Japan Boxing Commission said Tuesday, with the 25-year-old set to retire.
Shigeoka was not knocked down during Saturday's 12-round split-decision loss to Filipino champion Pedro Taduran at Intex Osaka but began losing consciousness in the ring after the result was announced. He was stretchered out and rushed to a hospital.
Under JBC rules, a boxer who has had brain surgery cannot hold a professional license, meaning Shigeoka must retire from the sport.
Shigeoka is in an intensive care unit and under observation at a hospital in Osaka, according to JBC secretary general Tsuyoshi Yasukochi.
The Kumamoto Prefecture native won the minimumweight title in 2023, when his older brother Yudai also won the WBC title in the division.
Shigeoka lost his belt to Taduran last July via a ninth-round technical knockout in his first career defeat.
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Kyodo News
an hour ago
- Kyodo News
Tributes to Nagashima pour in from Japanese sports world
KYODO NEWS - 13 hours ago - 20:14 | Sports, All, Japan Japanese baseball luminaries and other sporting figures have paid tribute to Yomiuri Giants icon Shigeo Nagashima, who died of pneumonia at 89 on Tuesday. Among them was former Giants teammate and fellow Japanese Baseball Hall of Famer Sadaharu Oh, who visited Nagashima's house to see his body laid out. "He was always forward-thinking and someone who pulled us in with his character, before we knew it. He was just a special presence," Oh said. "Shigeo Nagashima was still there like before and I was relieved to see his face. These days will eventually arrive for everyone, but it came to the last person I wanted it to." While the pair, known by the nickname "O-N," helped the Giants forge a dynasty with nine straight Central League and Japan Series titles from 1965 to 1973, the 85-year-old Oh, whose 868 home runs are the most in Nippon Professional Baseball history, said he was always looking up to his older teammate. "I couldn't match him at all in terms of presence, so I had to show it with my bat. I could only compete with him with my numbers," Oh said. "Shigeo Nagashima was the man inside the head of every pro baseball player." Japan's 2009 World Baseball Classic-winning skipper Tatsunori Hara, who hit 382 homers for the Giants before managing them for 17 seasons, winning nine CL pennants and three Japan Series titles, said Nagashima was "rigorous when it came to winning and losing." "But he was nice to people and loved by everyone," said the 66-year-old Hara, who played and coached under Nagashima, known as "Mr. Giants," before succeeding him as skipper in 2002. "He was my idol, the symbol of the sport and a god-like figure. He was always shining brightly and influenced me the most as a player, coach and manager." Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers offered his "sincere condolences" in an Instagram post featuring three photos of him and Nagashima together. Ohtani, who hit his MLB lead-tying 23rd home run of the season after the news of Nagashima's death broke, met Nagashima at Tokyo Dome in March when the Dodgers played their two-game season-opening series against the Chicago Cubs. The San Diego Padres' Yu Darvish wrote on social media site X, "It's been a sad day," as he sent his prayers to Nagashima, while Kodai Senga of the New York Mets called him "a legend among legends." Nagashima's 59-year-old son Kazushige, who played for the Yakult Swallows and the Giants, said, "Baseball was his life and what he loved most." "I feel he had the happiest 89 years, more than anyone, in his baseball life," he said in a statement. "He has returned to the planet of baseball. I'm sure he'd wish that much of the passion he left in the ballpark will help develop Japanese pro baseball, even if only slightly." Saburo Kawabuchi, the inaugural chairman of both football's J-League and basketball's B-League, who was born in 1936 like Nagashima, said he was "grateful for his distinguished service that kept providing Japan with energy, courage and hope." Japan Sports Agency Commissioner Koji Murofushi, who won the men's hammer gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, said Nagashima's "each word and action was made with the fans in mind." "He was a star who provided the public with positive news," the 50-year-old said. "He really supported me when I was competing and I thought he was so broadminded. I send my condolences." Yokozuna Onosato, sumo's new 24-year-old grand champion, said he recalled Nagashima receiving the People's Honor Award in 2013 along with the wrestler's fellow Ishikawa Prefecture native and former New York Yankee Hideki Matsui. "He's a legendary, historic figure with great records. It's sad news," he said. Related coverage: Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima dead at 89
Japan Today
4 hours ago
- Japan Today
Zico warns Japan players not to follow Brazilians into transfer trap
soccer By Andrew MCKIRDY Zico was instrumental in Japan's development as a soccer nation and has warned that players are moving to Europe too young, citing his native Brazil as a cautionary tale. The midfield legend ended his playing career in Japan after helping to launch the professional in 1993 and he also coached the country's national team from 2002 to 2006. He maintains a connection to Japan as an adviser to Kashima Antlers, the club he helped build into the country's most successful and where he has served as a player, coach and technical director for the past 30 years. During that time, Zico has seen Japan grow from soccer backwater to regular World Cup participant, with players thriving at some of Europe's biggest clubs. The 72-year-old says Japanese players looking beyond the is a "positive" development -- as long as they move at the right time. He draws similarities with Brazil, where he says some players leave for Europe after only a handful of games in the domestic league. "Brazilian players go to Europe too soon, losing their Brazilian roots. If a player isn't resilient, they come back because they haven't achieved their full potential there," Zico told AFP in Kashima. "They leave very early, they don't play and that's happened in Germany, it's happened in Italy, it's happened in many places. That's what's happening to many Japanese players -- they go there too early, lack confidence and then they come back." Zico says the trend is still overwhelmingly beneficial for Japan. He contrasts the situation to the early days of the when European clubs would sign Japanese players "for marketing reasons". Zico says the current picture is also different from his time as Japan coach, during which he won the 2004 Asian Cup and took the team to the 2006 World Cup. "We had some players in Europe but they would get half an hour, five minutes, 15 minutes in games -- they weren't starters like they are today, that's the big difference," he said. "So when they came back to play for the national team they didn't bring the same playing rhythm that they have today." Zico was one of several international stars drafted in to help the launch of the which brought professional football to Japan for the first time. The Brazilian, along with England's Gary Lineker and Germany's Pierre Littbarski, raised the new league's profile and helped football take root in a country long obsessed with baseball. High-profile signings are now rare in the with Spanish World Cup winner Andres Iniesta's move to Vissel Kobe in 2018 a notable exception. Zico believes it was "not a coincidence" that Kobe won two straight titles after Iniesta left the club in 2023. "It's an investment. Having a player of Iniesta's level at your club motivates everyone," he said. "You learn because he's a winner, it improves the performance of the other players and it motivates the supporters. Everything grows." Kashima currently top the even if the days when they could sign Brazilian World Cup winners like Jorginho and Leonardo are long gone. Zico joined the club when they were in the semi-professional second division and they have since won the a record eight times and the Asian Champions League once. Zico visits Kashima regularly to interact with fans and sponsors, as well as working with the club's youth section. He says the club is "like my son". "I watched it being born, grow and become what it is now," he said. "We have been able to take my experience in professional football and put it into practice here. A son is like that -- you educate him and watch him go through life." © 2025 AFP
Kyodo News
7 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima dead at 89
KYODO NEWS - 14 hours ago - 13:36 | Sports, All Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima, a People's Honor Award recipient who rose to stardom for his on-field exploits during the country's era of rapid economic growth in the 1960s and 1970s, died Tuesday due to pneumonia, the Yomiuri Giants said. He was 89. Nagashima, who was a key player on the Giants team that won nine consecutive Central League and Japan Series titles from 1965 to 1973 and later managed the club, was a charismatic figure whose popularity transcended sports. Together with teammate Sadaharu Oh, or "O-N" as the pair were nicknamed, Nagashima became a household name at a time when the country's economy was booming and is fondly remembered by many middle-aged and older Japanese with nostalgia for those times. His retirement from playing in 1974 made the year's top 10 news stories, while the speech he gave at his retirement ceremony, in which he said "My Giants are forever immortal," has become part of Japan's popular lexicon. Over his 17-year playing career, Nagashima won the Central League batting title six times, was home run king twice and RBI leader five times. He was also a five-time CL MVP. He played in 2,186 games during his storied career, with a .305 batting average, 2,471 hits, 1,522 RBIs and 444 home runs. "I'm really shocked to hear the sudden obituary," said the 85-year-old Oh, whose 868 home runs is the Nippon Professional Baseball record. "I'm really disappointed that Mr. Nagashima, who shines brightly in the history of Japanese baseball, has departed after a long bout with illness. He taught me lots of things. I'm grateful to have been able to play with him." Known as "Mr. Giants" -- often shortened to "Mister" -- Nagashima was a flashy fielder with a flair for game-breaking batting heroics. His signature moment was his game-winning, sayonara home run in the first pro game attended by a Japanese emperor on June 25, 1959. Nagashima is credited with helping pro ball surpass Japan's traditional university game as the nation's most popular brand of baseball. When Yomiuri engineered his hiring as Japan's manager for the 2004 Olympics, players flocked to his banner. Japan swept through Asian qualifying but he was scratched from Olympic duty when he was felled by a stroke in March 2004. As Giants manager, he won five pennants, including two Japan Series titles, over 15 seasons. Although he was eventually named the Giants "Manager Emeritus," Nagashima's first tenure as manager was a rocky one. When his offense hit the skids in 1974 and the Giants just missed out on a 10th straight CL pennant, Yomiuri management jettisoned the team's most successful skipper ever, Tetsuharu Kawakami, to make room for Nagashima. In 1975, the rookie skipper led the Giants to their only last-place finish. Nagashima won CL pennants in 1976 and 1977, but not the Japan Series and was fired after the 1980 season. Nagashima returned as manager of the Giants in 1993, while a free agent system introduced at the time allowed the team to secure a steady flow of veteran front-line talent. In 1994, he won his first Japan Series pennant with a team powered by his young batting disciple and now fellow Hall of Famer, Hideki Matsui, who later joined the New York Yankees. Nagashima got the better of his old teammate Oh when the pair faced each other as managers in the 2000 Japan Series with Yomiuri prevailing 4-2 against the Pacific League-winning Daiei (now SoftBank) Hawks in the best-of-seven series. Despite being better known for wacky phrases that caught the public's attention than his communication skills, Nagashima still had a way of getting the best out of his players. Known for his cheerful character, Nagashima often created his own Japanese-English expressions, including "make drama," a phrase he used while he was Giants manager to encourage players not to give up winning even when it seemed impossible. The phrase was selected as a buzzword of 1996 after the Giants achieved a dramatic upset victory in the Central League. Born in Sakura, Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo, in 1936, Nagashima played for the Rikkyo University baseball team before joining the Giants in 1958. The CL's 1958 rookie of the year, Nagashima was the winner of the league's best nine award 17 times, the only player to win every season from his first to his last. Nagashima was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988 and had his No. 3 retired by the Giants. In 2013, he received the People's Honor Award, along with Matsui. The award is bestowed by Japan's prime minister for outstanding achievements in sports, entertainment and other fields. Nagashima was hospitalized in 2018 for half a year to treat a gallstone and then frequently used a wheelchair. But after receiving an offer to take part in the Tokyo Olympics' torch relay in 2021, he was determined to walk on his own feet and managed to do so with help from Oh and Matsui.
