Boxing: Ex-champ Ginjiro Shigeoka has brain surgery, set to retire
KYODO NEWS - 5 hours ago - 19:58 | Sports, All
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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