Kuniaki Shibata

Kuniaki Shibata (柴田 国明, born March 29, 1947, in Hitachi, Japan) is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1977. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC and The Ring featherweight titles from 1970 to 1972, the WBA and The Ring super-featherweight titles in 1973, and the WBC super-featherweight title from 1974 to 1975.

Kuniaki Shibata
Statistics
Real nameKuniaki Shibata
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Reach63+1⁄2 in (161 cm)
Born (1947-03-29) March 29, 1947
Hitachi, Japan
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights56
Wins47
Wins by KO25
Losses6
Draws3

Biography

Shibata won his debut match in 1965 with a first-round knockout, and fought for the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation featherweight title in 1969, but lost by sixth-round knockout. In April 1970 he challenged for the vacant Japanese featherweight title, and won by tenth-round knockout. He relinquished the title to challenge WBC featherweight champion Vicente Saldivar, and won the title when Saldivar gave up after the twelfth round.

He made his first defense by first-round knockout, and retained his title in his second defense with a draw, but lost to Clemente Sanchez in May, 1972.

Shibata moved up to super featherweight, and got his second world title shot against Lineal and WBA champion Ben Villaflor in Honolulu on March 12, 1973. He won by fifteen-round unanimous decision to capture his second world title.[1]

Shibata made one defense in Japan before returning to the United States to fight Ben Villaflor again for his second defense. Shibata lost by knockout less than 2 minutes into the first round to lose his second world title.

On February 28, 1974, he challenged Ricardo Arredondo for the WBC super featherweight title, and won by unanimous decision for his third world title. He defended the title three times before losing to Alfredo Escalera in 1975. He attempted another comeback, but announced his retirement in 1977. His record was 47-6-3 (25 KOs).

Shibata was a short and speedy fighter, who took advantage of even the slightest openings to throw in a flurry of punches. However, he also had a very weak chin, and was very susceptible to counter punches. Five of his six career losses were by knockout. He and former WBC lightweight champion Guts Ishimatsu were gym mates, and both fighters were trained by Eddie Townsend.

Professional boxing record
56 fights 47 wins 6 losses
By knockout 25 5
By decision 22 1
Draws 3
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
56 Win 47–6–3 Al Espinosa PTS 10 Nov 29, 1975 Korakuen Hall, Japan
55 Win 46–6–3 Susumu Okabe UD 10 Oct 10, 1975 Korakuen Hall, Japan
54 Win 45–6–3 Tamio Negishi UD 10 Mar 22, 1975 Akita City, Japan
53 Loss 44–6–3 Alfredo Escalera KO 2 (15), 2:56 Jul 5, 1975 Kasamatsu Athletic Park Gym, Hitachinaka, Japan Lost WBC super-featherweight title
52 Win 44–5–3 Abdelkader Ould Makhloufi UD 15 Mar 27, 1975 Kyuden Gym, Fukuoka, Japan Retained WBC super-featherweight title
51 Win 43–5–3 Ramiro Bolanos KO 15 (15), 2:29 Oct 3, 1974 Nihon University Auditorium, Japan Retained WBC super-featherweight title
50 Win 42–5–3 Antonio Amaya MD 15 Jun 27, 1974 Nihon University Auditorium, Japan Retained WBC super-featherweight title
49 Win 41–5–3 Ricardo Arredondo UD 15 Feb 28, 1974 Nihon University Auditorium, Japan Won WBC super-featherweight title
48 Loss 40–5–3 Ben Villaflor KO 1 (15), 1:56 Oct 17, 1973 Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. Lost WBA and The Ring super-featherweight titles
47 Win 40–4–3 Nam Chul Chung KO 2 (10), 0:49 Sep 3, 1973 Hitachi, Japan
46 Win 39–4–3 Victor Federico Echegaray UD 15 Jun 19, 1973 Nihon University Auditorium, Japan Retained WBA and The Ring super-featherweight titles
45 Win 38–4–3 Ben Villaflor UD 15 Mar 12, 1973 Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. Won WBA and The Ring super-featherweight titles
44 Win 37–4–3 Kimio Shindo KO 7 (10), 2:12 Feb 3, 1973 Sendai, Japan
43 Loss 36–4–3 Andries Steyn PTS 10 Oct 7, 1972 Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa
42 Win 36–3–3 Bert Nabalatan UD 10 Jul 11, 1972 Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
41 Loss 35–3–3 Clemente Sánchez KO 3 (15), 2:26 May 19, 1972 Nihon University Auditorium, Japan Lost WBC and The Ring featherweight titles
40 Draw 35–2–3 Ernesto Marcel SD 15 Nov 11, 1971 Ehime Rugby Stadium, Matsuyama, Japan Retained WBC and The Ring featherweight titles
39 Win 35–2–2 Hyun Kim UD 10 Aug 1, 1971 Nagoya, Japan
38 Win 34–2–2 Raul Cruz KO 1 (15), 3:04 Jun 3, 1971 Metropolitan Gym, Japan Retained WBC and The Ring featherweight titles
37 Win 33–2–2 Vicente Garcia PTS 10 Mar 7, 1971 Hitachi, Japan
36 Win 32–2–2 Vicente Saldivar RTD 12 (15), 3:00 Dec 11, 1970 Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Mexico Won WBC and The Ring featherweight titles
35 Win 31–2–2 Hyun Kim UD 10 Sep 9, 1970 Japan
34 Draw 30–2–2 Jose Acosta MD 10 Jul 8, 1970 Korakuen Hall, Japan
33 Win 30–2–1 Yasuo Sakurai KO 10 (10), 0:44 Apr 15, 1970 Japan Won vacant Japanese featherweight title
32 Win 29–2–1 Felipe Torres UD 10 Feb 4, 1970 Japan
31 Win 28–2–1 Flash Besande KO 3 (10), 1:56 Oct 22, 1969 Osaka, Japan
30 Win 27–2–1 Fernando Sotelo KO 9 (10), 1:07 Sep 10, 1969 Japan
29 Win 26–2–1 Yoshio Ando KO 8 (10), 2:58 Jun 11, 1969 Japan
28 Win 25–2–1 Kid Barrios KO 1 (10), 2:10 Apr 28, 1969 Japan
27 Win 24–2–1 Koji Ikeda PTS 10 Mar 24, 1969 Japan
26 Loss 23–2–1 Hubert Kang KO 6 (12), 1:14 Jan 15, 1969 Japan For OPBF featherweight title
25 Win 23–1–1 Orlando Medina UD 10 Oct 23, 1968 Korakuen Hall, Japan
24 Draw 22–1–1 Toshiharu Mori TD 3 (10), 0:38 Aug 14, 1968 Japan
23 Win 22–1 Beto Maldonado PTS 10 Jul 3, 1968 Korakuen Hall, Japan
22 Loss 21–1 Dwight Hawkins KO 7 (10), 1:14 Mar 27, 1968 Korakuen Hall, Japan
21 Win 21–0 Ramiro Nides PTS 10 Mar 1, 1968 Recreation Center, Agana, Guam
20 Win 20–0 Tiny Palacio KO 5 (10), 1:51 Jan 31, 1968 Japan
19 Win 19–0 Soo Bok Kwon KO 2 (10), 1:19 Dec 27, 1967 Japan
18 Win 18–0 Chang Bok Lee KO 2 (10), 1:50 Dec 5, 1967 Hitachi, Japan
17 Win 17–0 Chang Soo Yun RTD 9 (10), 3:00 Nov 15, 1967 Gifu, Japan
16 Win 16–0 Roy Amolong UD 10 Sep 20, 1967 Korakuen Hall, Japan
15 Win 15–0 Roberto Andrade KO 5 (10), 2:05 Aug 9, 1967 Korakuen Hall, Japan
14 Win 14–0 Katsutoshi Aoki KO 1 (10), 1:52 Jul 5, 1967 Japan
13 Win 13–0 Hyun Kim PTS 10 Mar 5, 1967 Japan
12 Win 12–0 Hiroshi Miyata KO 4 (10), 1:47 Feb 12, 1967 Japan
11 Win 11–0 Alberto Reyes PTS 10 Jan 15, 1967 Japan
10 Win 10–0 Kenji Fuse KO 2 (8), 1:52 Dec 11, 1966 Japan
9 Win 9–0 Atsushi Gunji KO 6 (8), 2:51 Oct 23, 1966 Japan
8 Win 8–0 Masachika Tokutome KO 5 (6), 1:16 Jan 31, 1966 Osaka, Japan
7 Win 7–0 Takao Suzuki KO 1 (6), 1:50 Dec 20, 1965 Japan
6 Win 6–0 Toshihiko Nojiri PTS 4 Nov 1, 1965 Japan
5 Win 5–0 Yoshinobu Yokoyama KO 1 (4), 0:34 Sep 27, 1965 Japan
4 Win 4–0 Masaru Miyazaki PTS 4 Sep 2, 1965 Japan
3 Win 3–0 Norio Sugimoto KO 1 (4), 1:40 Jul 28, 1965 Japan
2 Win 2–0 Hitoshi Yoshino KO 1 (4), 0:58 Apr 5, 1965 Japan
1 Win 1–0 Seiichi Iizuka KO 1 (4), 1:40 Mar 6, 1965 Japan

See also

References
  1. "Kuniaki Shibata - Lineal Jr. Lightweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
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