Takanori Hatakeyama boxer

Takanori Hatakeyama (畑山隆則, Hatakeyama Takanori, born July 28, 1975 in Aomori, Japan) is a former professional boxer.Hatakeyama turned pro in 1993 and captured the WBA Super Featherweight Title in 1998 with a majority decision win over Yong Soo Choi. He lost the belt in 1999 to Lakva Sim via TKO, and moved up in weight to capture the WBA Lightweight Title with a TKO win over Gilberto Serrano in 2000. He defended the belt twice before losing it to Julien Lorcy in 2001. Hatakeyama retired after the loss.Hatakeyama played baseball throughout his childhood, wanting to become a professional baseball player when he grew up. However, a boxing match he saw on television made him take an interest in boxing. He decided to become a professional boxer after seeing Joichiro Tatsuyoshi win the WBC Bantamweight title. He quit high school, moving to Tokyo to begin serious training.He made his professional debut at age 17 in June, 1993, without a single fight as an amateur. He won the OPBF Super Featherweight title in 1996, and challenged the WBA Super Featherweight champion Yong-Soo Choi in 1997. The fight was a close draw, and Choi retained his title.Hatakeyama challenged the Japanese Super Featherweight champion in March, 1998, winning by 9th-round TKO. He immediately returned his title to prepare for another world title match. He fought Yong-Soo Choi again for the WBA title on September 5, 1998, this time winning by decision to gain his first world title.Hatakeyama made his first defense with a draw, but lost his second defense match against the mandatory challenger Lakva Sim in 1999. He announced his retirement after the fight, but resumed training in 2000, moving up to the Lightweight division.