Is boxing BIG in japan???

I think he'll be moving up soon because I heard he kills himself to make weight should be interesting. the kid is a worldwide talent. hope he starts getting the recognition he deserves. i think he beats anyone at straw/minimum.

hes the future of japanese boxing. in fact hes been causing a worldwide uproar. should be interesting. I think he'll be moving up soon because I heard he kills himself to make weight

hes the future of japanese boxing. in fact hes been causing a worldwide uproar. should be interesting. True that I hope he is something special. I know he does a lot of training with Yuriorkis Gamboa.

IDK if it is big there but this kid looks like a great fighter. Kazuto Ioka. hes the future of japanese boxing. in fact hes been causing a worldwide uproar. should be interesting.

No you won't. Barely any Japanese want to take the trip here, only great boxer that has done so recently(that I can remember) is Nishioka in 2009. Most of the time the Mexican has to take The trip to Japan, even if they have the belt. i meant the us. my fault.

IDK if it is big there but this kid looks like a great fighter. Kazuto Ioka.

i think i liked new challenger music more inner light and Saber Tiger Eternal loop got me so pumped but Last Alliance - Hekireki (ippo op) was pretty good too i dunno if any of you read the ippo manga but in my opnion the miyate and ippo rivalry is starting to look like floyd vs manny's one lol where the 2rivals never actually get to face each other Ippo and ichiro already fought twice and the fight didnt happen professionaly because first time kamogawa didnt think ippo could do it and second time was ichiro miayta broke his promis to fight nonito donair/randy boy jr

No you won't. Barely any Japanese want to take the trip here, only great boxer that has done so recently(that I can remember) is Nishioka in 2009. Most of the time the Mexican has to take The trip to Japan, even if they have the belt. I think Koki Kameda fought in Japan a couple years back.

theres a few reasons japanses fighters rarely fight outside of japan. one is that they dont need to. they are primarily in the lower weights where most americans dont compete. so chances of them getting american money are slim to none, which is cool because they get great tv dates and crowds across japan. the other is only two organizations are recognized in japan, the wbc and the wba. the ibf and the wbo are not. so that limits the chances they have of fighting some of the other fighters for belts. u will more likely find a japanese fighting in mexico than in japan honestly. No you won't. Barely any Japanese want to take the trip here, only great boxer that has done so recently(that I can remember) is Nishioka in 2009. Most of the time the Mexican has to take The trip to Japan, even if they have the belt.

I cannot give a numerical ranking but I watch a lot of Japanese fights and more times than not there are large, energetic crowds.

theres a few reasons japanses fighters rarely fight outside of japan. one is that they dont need to. they are primarily in the lower weights where most americans dont compete. so chances of them getting american money are slim to none, which is cool because they get great tv dates and crowds across japan. the other is only two organizations are recognized in japan, the wbc and the wba. the ibf and the wbo are not. so that limits the chances they have of fighting some of the other fighters for belts. u will more likely find a japanese fighting in mexico than in japan honestly. Yup, good post The funny thing about boxing in japan compared to anywhere else is that you'll have thousands of people in a stadium going crazy but when the fight starts go completely silent no matter how entertaining the fight is. Then erupt once the fight is over. Only place in the world i've ever seen that. It's a cultural thing.... they're very respectful people.

Germany is a bit like that but not as bad. Only thing is german fans don't go "ooh" when a big shot lands but they clap instead. :lol1: They do enjoy watching paint dry over in Germany,which is a good job as most of the guys fighting out of there are boring as ****

Well, from the looks of this article, MMA seems to be on the decline in Japan, while Boxing is on the rise.... http://ajw.asahi.com/article/sports/topics/AJ201112300038 BOXING/ TV networks bank on boxing over K-1 on Dec. 31 K-1 and mixed martial arts used to dominate the 7-10 p.m. prime time television slots on New Year's Eve in Japan, but this year boxing will rule the coveted spots. New Year's Eve is considered the most popular day on the TV schedule in Japan, comparable to Super Bowl Sunday in the United States. This year, the K-1 matches and mixed martial arts shows that had long been aired during prime time on commercial channels will disappear from terrestrial TV. Instead, two broadcasters will be airing professional boxing matches where world championship belts will be at stake. Professional boxing will be going up against public broadcaster NHK's extremely popular annual live music program, "Kohaku Utagassen," enjoyed by people of all ages. Other broadcasters are counting on boxing, a sport in which Japan is producing many world champions, to grab some of those viewer ratings. TV Tokyo will be airing world title matches featuring WBA super-featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama and WBA featherweight Satoshi Hosono. Tokyo Broadcasting System will be showing WBC minimumweight champion Kazuto Ioka's second defense of his world title, this one against Thai challenger Yedgoen Tor-Chalermchai. This will be the first time that three world title matches will take place in Japan on New Year's Eve. Recently, martial arts that claim to be "serious fights" have been dominating prime time on New Year's Eve. The main sports were K-1, which only allows kicks and other forms of attack in the standing position, and a mixed martial arts form called PRIDE, which allows fighters to use ground techniques and choking techniques as well. TBS had triggered this trend. The network began live broadcasts of K-1 and mixed martial arts in 2001. It gave priority to broadcasting highly anticipated K-1 fights, such as Bob "The Beast" Sapp against former yokozuna Akebono. That fight scored a maximum 43 percent viewer rating in 2003, according to Kanto regional data analyzed by Video Research Ltd. Other TV stations soon followed suit. In 2003, when Fuji Television Network aired PRIDE, and Nippon Television broadcast professional wrestling and a mix martial arts event called the Inoki Festival, the three commercial networks won a total of 41.8 percent of the viewer ratings on New Year's Eve (based on simplified calculations). The networks almost collectively beat NHK's New Year's Eve music program, which won 45.9 percent of the ratings for the second half of the show. That heat, however, has begun to fade in recent years. In 2006, Fuji dropped broadcasts of PRIDE when it was reported that the event's host organization had ties to Japanese crime syndicates. K-1 also suffered from a scandal this summer when the host organization's alleged lack of payment to some fighters surfaced. That's when TBS decided to stop broadcasts for fear of the scandal negatively affecting the network. "For a TV network, the image that their programs create is a major element in determining what to air," says one media critic. "Networks also probably lost interest in mixed martial arts that failed to produce new stars." So, what prompted TV Tokyo and TBS to switch to boxing instead? TV Tokyo had been suffering from 1 percent viewer ratings in its documentary programs in recent years. As the network searched for mixed martial arts to broadcast, it decided that boxing had more substance than style, compared to MMA. "Boxing appeals to the public because the content of the fight is what matters, compared with mixed martial arts that depend more on the personalities of the fighters," says TV Tokyo official Akinori Tomoda. Uchiyama, who is the main boxer in this year's program, is a true champion with a current string of 17 consecutive undefeated fights and 14 knockouts. He will take on Mexico's Jorge Solis on New Year's Eve. "He's the real deal in anyone's eyes," says Tomoda. "I think we'll get support with people of all ages tuning in." Also on the TV Tokyo card, Hosono, ranked eighth by WBA, will step into the ring with champ Celestino Caballero of Panama. TBS is counting on the 22-year-old Ioka to revive its sluggish ratings. Ioka is a new star who won his world title after just seven matches, the fastest pace among all Japanese boxers. Ioka's first title defense on Aug. 10 gave TBS a 16.6 percent viewer rating. "Other networks are airing mainly variety shows and music programs," TBS producer Koichiro Kitamura says. "Ioka has the glamour to nab audience attention and put us on top of the ratings. We want to regain the top rating among commercial networks." For the boxing world, this is a great opportunity to promote the sport. TV broadcasting rights hold the key to the financial success of boxing matches, and industry insiders want to use this chance to recover from the current slump. Boxing used to enjoy high ratings in the 1960s and '70s, but the only bout to get a rating over 40 percent after the retirement of former boxer and entertainer Yoko Gushiken in 1981 was a fight featuring the young Koki Kameda. Japan Pro Boxing Association Chairman Hideyuki Ohashi would tune in to the MMA programs, but often pondered whether his sport was missing out. "I would watch mixed martial arts fights on TV (on New Year's Eve) but I always wondered whether boxing could replace mixed martial arts," says Ohashi. Former boxing champion Fighting Harada, who pulled a 60 percent-plus rating while he was an active boxer, says, "Japan has eight world champions right now, the most ever in Japan's boxing history. I want the public to focus on boxing, which Japan can be proud of." In mid-December, a mixed martial arts organization, which is separate from K-1, announced that it will host a match on New Year's Eve between a gold medal-winning judoka and a foreign fighter. The organization searched for a network that would air the match on a terrestrial channel but failed to find one. This clearly demonstrates the gap in popularity that boxing now enjoys compared to mixed martial arts.

I'm big in japan! For you Tom waits fans out there

Haha I kinda like that, its like watching the opera. Or tennis.

Also I found the music in New Challenger just couldn't capture the same great energy as the first series.

Germany is a bit like that but not as bad. Only thing is german fans don't go "ooh" when a big shot lands but they clap instead. Haha I kinda like that, its like watching the opera.

The funny thing about boxing in japan compared to anywhere else is that you'll have thousands of people in a stadium going crazy but when the fight starts go completely silent no matter how entertaining the fight is. Then erupt once the fight is over. Only place in the world i've ever seen that. Germany is a bit like that but not as bad. Only thing is german fans don't go "ooh" when a big shot lands but they clap instead.

The funny thing about boxing in japan compared to anywhere else is that you'll have thousands of people in a stadium going crazy but when the fight starts go completely silent no matter how entertaining the fight is. Then erupt once the fight is over. Only place in the world i've ever seen that.

It's pretty big and a growing sport.