Katsunari Takayama pugile

Katsunari Takayama (高山 勝成, Takayama Katsunari, born May 12, 1983) is a Japanese professional boxer. He is a five-time mini-flyweight world champion, having held the WBC title in 2005, the IBF title twice between 2013 and 2015, and the WBO title twice between 2014 and 2017. He retired as a professional in 2017, as WBO world champion, to focus on participation in the 2020 Olympics, but returned in 2020 after failing to qualify.Takayama weighed about 60 kg at the age of twelve. He started playing rugby and athletics, but did not last long. It was in summer in the second grade of junior high school that his friend brought him to a boxing gym. When he got started on the punching bag, despite he said he is going to be a world champion, he could not do more than three push-ups in a row. Even after his own workout, he had been watching senior boxers' sparring sessions and trainees' training.Takayama made his professional debut in October 2000 and won the All-Japan Rookie King Tournament in December 2001.On April 4, 2005 Takayama defeated Isaac Bustos for the WBC world title, by a unanimous decision. This victory gave Takayama the distinction of being the 50th Japanese fighter to win a world title. However, he lost a next bout against Eagle Kyowa by a unanimous decision, on August 6, 2005.On November 7, 2006 he defeated Carlos Melo for the WBA interim title when he was originally supposed to face Yutaka Niida for the WBA title in September. However, due to a costal cartilage fracture Niida sustained from sparring, the fight would be delayed to April 7, 2007 ending in a split decision loss. After the fight, his then manager rejected the decision and uttered that it was a match fixing and that he would make civil litigation. However, he visited the JBC (Japan Boxing Commission) two days later and apologized for his rant saying that he had just wanted to pat his boxer on the back. Furthermore, most of the purse for that fight had not been paid. Although Takayama and Nakade announced that they would transfer to any other gym, the matters on the match fee and transfer fee were not resolved over months.Takayama got another world title shot on July 14, 2009. This time, it was for the WBA minimumweight title which is held by Roman Gonzalez. Unsuccessfully, Takayama lost on all judges. He retired as a JBC-licensed boxer to fight for the WBO and IBF's titles in late 2009. At that time the JBC had approved no fight for the WBO and IBF's titles, but conditionally allowed them from February 28, 2011. That is because the West Japan Boxing Association to which Takayama and Ken'ichi Yamaguchi belonged strongly urged reform of the system after they issued retirement notices.