Wajima didn't turn pro until his 25th year, sick off his job working as a manual labourer. Koichi's style was rather unorthodox - there is no jab to speak of, he leads with uppercuts and hooks, but mainly with his head - fighting out of a crouch, with his chin properly protected at his breast-bone, he would often invite punishment, ducking out of the way of punches at the waist, looking for the correct point to introduce his own punching - at which point he became about as aggressive as a puncher could be. Koichi Wajima rather reminds me of Jack Dempsey. Anyway, much of this technically bizzare boxing is born of the fact that Wajima was, up to a point, self taught. This made him very unpredictable. His other great strengths were just that, physical strong with the type of hear that isn't good for a fighter, he was very popular in Japan. Alas, he never fought outside of his home country, perhaps the reason he is not well known or highly rated in the west. He came to the world light-middleweight title in 1971, beating Carmelo Bossi on an SD, his fourth year as a pro fighter. After 6 successful defences he lost his title via a 15th round KO against against Oscar Abelardo before winning the title back in a rematch 7 months later. It is now, in 1975 that things get really interesting. Wajima was past his prime upon meeting Korean champion boxer Jae-do Yuh(50[29], 3[3] and 2), who was certainly stepping up in class in taking on Wajima. Here is the end of that fight. Guys, if you've just popped into this thread for a quick look, please take the time to watch this clip, talk about punch resistance. Wajima is in the orange trunks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdFbPBJWMX4&feature=related Again, Wajima is rematched for the title, and this time the fight makes it into the fifteenth, but Wajima is trailing on points. Look for the lead hook from the crouching style and the final, picture perfect right hand that finishes the job, talk about proper technique in terms of punching form. Shame about the jab though!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xS-cx1InHk&feature=related So he became a three time champ at the weight, which isn't bad, not at all Yuh was no world beater of course, having been matched mainly with novices and losing fighters, but he was an area champion who went on winning after this fight. For Wajima, it was almost over, he would lose twice more at title level before retiring. A fabulous story and an interesting fighter, I think it's a shame he's so underexposed. I enjoy the way he fights - all heart and aggression - and I like his punching form for those punches he does employ, even though he has an underwhelming arsenal. Never stops punching. When I look at him I see shades of some of the great HW champs. I'm not suggesting that he is in their class as a fighter, but the guy puts me in mind of Dempsey, Marciano and Frazier on occasion. Strange. Anyway, i'd be very interested to hear any observations about his style based upon these short clips or other footage you have seen. Any strong opinions about this fighter, either way?
Being from Japan, Wajimia was indeed a very popular fighter. The FLAME, or the "burning man". lol His style was the type that inspired "manga" artists. He would get rocked/beaten up again & again, but somehow find a way to win. Some people call his punching style the "frog punch", as evidenced from his crouch. His style, like you mentioned, is VERY unorthodox-you need tremendous strength & stamina to do that for 15 rounds. He was also one of the few Japanese fighters to have success in the higher weight classes. If he were fighting today, he would be making LOTS Of money due to his style.
Thanks for this excellent post. You make some very fine observations. I think if he was fighting these days he would indeed make a fortune if he were willing to travel, and he's the type of fighter who could upset some very big names in my opinion. Awkward and fearless. The "frog punch", eh? I like that, I can see that. Those left hooks look infuriating to defend against, explosive leads, and he has fast hands! Totally unexpected, and he throws them from considerably lower than where they actually detonate. How popular would you say he was compared to other great Japaneese fighters? More or less than Watanabe for example? I opened a thread on Watanabe a few weeks back if you have any observations there, and can be bothered to find it.
Japanese fighters usually have never had to travel afar due to most of their competition being "local" in the Pacific. They usually paid up for the champions to come travel such as Jofre, Arguello, & Locche. In today's climate though, I'm sure fighters like Wajima would oblige to coming to the big lights of Vegas & etc., just for the money & exposure alone. Any world champion from Japan was a BIG deal, especially with a crowd pleasing style. I would say that he is fondly remembered moreso than Watanabe & Gushiken, although they were probably better fighters & champions. A company that is a notch below Fighting Harada. And you are right in thinking he would upset some very big names in hypothetical matchups-fighters like Wajima, Little Red Lopez, Saad Muhammad, Chacon, & etc. are difficult to gauge completely. They have tremendous flaws & holes in their games, but they always seem to rise from the dead, & get up from the canvas, when all hope is lost. Fortunately, there is a good amount of footage available of Wajima, unlike other unorthodox deities like Gypsy Joe Harris. Btw, Watanabe has been put away numerous times since his retirement. He seems to have a streak of getting into trouble, & is a bit "sketchy".
Wajima will always have a secure place in boxing history as the light middleweight of the decade for the 1970s. Not a bad place to be. And thanks to services like youtube, everybody can now see the fabled frog punch for themselves, something that westerners had previously only read about. (Imagine only reading about the bolo punch without ever having seen Gavilan or Pedroza execute it.)
BIG DEE HERE= When I was in high school Koichi Wajima was the toughest ******* on the block. He just kept coming and coming after you with as you said incredibly fast hands. His chin was among the best of his time until he just couldn`t take it anymore. Like most fighters of his style his chin left him overnight accounting for the two KO losses at the end.
He certainly had a gung ho style that right hand he ate at 2.29 in the first vid was a beauty god knows how he got up from that. Being a three time linear champion at light middle is very impressive, you can see from these clips why he was so popular gave the fans there moneys worth.
