Anyone know much about this guy? He was a world champ at 130 and 135 and it's kind of bizarre to see a two-weight world champion have never been mentioned on this site.
Very exciting fighter who was rarely in a bad fight. His fights with Choi, Duran, Arisawa and specially the one against Sakamoto are.must watch. Great Stamina, A Huge Heart and a never back down attitude typical of many Japanese fighters, his biggest problem was that he was too easy to hit and he suffered from hand problems. If I remember right he was 130 Champion at the same time as Floyd but he was never an option cause he only fought in Japan and Floyd only fought in the US and had other big money options Like Corrales. Would have loved to see Takanori VS Stevie Johnston that would've been amazing and it was a doable fight cause Stevie wasn't afraid to fight abroad and he actually fought in Japan against Sakamoto. Overall I would say Takanori was a good but not great fighter I don't have him. In a top 10 Japanese fighters but certainly a very worthy champion and one who should be mentioned more often. Great thread @Dorrian_Grey
Thanks for the info, I'll be sure to give those fights a watch soon. Out of curiosity, would you say he's a similar level of action fighter as someone like Joichiro Tatsuyoshi?
I would say so although I might give Joe a slight edge in terms of excitement but not by much. Both are must must watch and both wee box office in Japan during their time.
He was very popular in Japan,that duel with Sakamoto was basically it's own FOTC,whose star will shine brighter in that fight?
