28-year-old Japanese boxer Shigetoshi Kotari has sadly died from a serious head injury he got during a fight in Tokyo on August 2.
Kotari was fighting Yamato Hata for the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) super-featherweight title. The match ended in a draw, but after the fight, Kotari collapsed and was quickly taken to the hospital.
Doctors found he had a subdural hematoma – bleeding between the skull and the brain – and performed emergency brain surgery. Sadly, he did not survive, and the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) confirmed his death on Friday.
He was not the only boxer injured that night. Another fighter, Hiromasa Urakawa, also had brain surgery after being knocked out by Yoji Saito.
Tributes have been pouring in from around the world. The World Boxing Organisation (WBO) and World Boxing Council (WBC) shared their condolences. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said he was deeply sorry for the loss and that boxing must keep working on making the sport safer.
Following the tragedy, the JBC announced that all OPBF title fights will now be 10 rounds instead of 12 to help protect fighters.
Kotari had a professional record of 8 wins, 2 losses, and 2 draws. His death comes just months after 28-year-old Irish boxer John Cooney died in February from a similar brain injury during a fight in Belfast.
