By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda
This reporter have covered Japanese boxing scene for sixty years, but have never heard such a pitiful and pathetic tragedy. WBA#9, IBF#11, WBC#15 unbeaten light flyweight prospect Kanamu Sakama, only 20, passed away this Sunday, the weigh-in day of his scheduled bout to defend his Japanese youth 108-pound belt against Hyuga Oki on the undercard of the OPBF, WBO AP 154-pound title bout at the Korakuen Hall yesterday. Sakama (9-0, 8 KOs) is said to have committed suicide as he couldn’t make good condition to fight and had his bout cancelled, of which he might have too seriously felt guilty. Even if responsible for this cancellation, Kanamu need not punish himself by such an incomprehensible way. Still young, he could have re-established his career despite a single default.
Sakama was a sort of genius by all means. At the second grade of elementary school he started to learn kick-boxing and at the fourth grade he turned to amateur boxing. Kanamu, in 2014, acquired the championship in the national U-15 (under fifteen years of age) tournaments to his credit. Turning professional in 2021, at the age of eighteen, he quickly scored four consecutive stoppages to have ringsiders watch his talent and progress thereafter. In July of the previous year Sakama won the vacant national youth 108-pound belt by scoring a fine TKO victory over Ryu Horikawa in the eighth and final round. His last fight of life resulted in a fifth round stoppage of hard-punching Filipino John Paul Gabunilas on the undercard of the “Monster” Inoue-Tapales undisputed unification bout on December 26. Out of the preliminary prospects of that night not only Kazuki Anaguchi but also Kanamu Sakama thus unfortunately lost their young lives. Our deepest sorrow is beyond description.
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