Greetings to all boxing enthusiasts. I am going to talk to you about boxers who had 30 fights or less and managed to become world champions. There were fighters from various countries that fall into this group and I want to start talking about some of them. Today I will dedicate this column to Yoko Gushiken. Gushiken was a Japanese boxer who was world light flyweight champion. He was born on June 26, 1955, in Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan. He was known as Kanmurawashi or "Fierce Eagle".
Gushiken was a Japanese southpaw who had a very good Jab. He was known for his good technique and spectacular physical condition. He knew when he had to attack aggressively and when to wait. He counter-punched very well and by putting pressure on his opponents, he took advantage of the mistakes they made to launch combinations that they did not expect. When he fought, the stadiums were filled, because above the ring he always lived up to his nickname throughout his career. He was one of the most popular boxers in Japan at the time.
On October 10, 1976, in his ninth professional fight, he challenged Dominican Juan Antonio Guzmán for the WBA light flyweight world championship. He defeated Guzmán by KO in the seventh round to become world champion in that division. As Champion he made 13 title defenses, winning nine of them by KO. His reign ended on March 8, 1981, when he lost by KO in 12 rounds against the Mexican Pedro Flores, being knocked out. After that fight, he retired from boxing for good and didn't even try to make a comeback.
One of the boxers that he defeated in one of his defenses was Rafael Pedroza, cousin of the well-known ex-featherweight world champion, Eusebio Pedroza. Pedroza became the WBA super flyweight world champion in December 1981, defeating Argentinian Gustavo Ballas by points in 15 rounds, a championship he later lost to Japanese Jiro Watanabe. Other boxers that he faced and won in his title defenses were: the Chilean Martín Vargas, the Panamanian Jaime Ríos, one of the first light flyweight world champions, and the Mexican Pedro Flores, whom he defeated in the last title defense of he.
Gushiken finished his career with 23 wins, 15 by KO and only one loss. He had 24 fights and that was enough to be world champion and have a reign that lasted more than four years. He was 26 years old when he retired from boxing. He was one of the few world champions to walk away after losing the world championship. He never gave in to the temptation of wanting to return, as he has happened to many legends of the sport. In 2015, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.