Takeshi Fuji

Takeshi Fuji (藤猛, born Paul Takeshi Fujii on July 6, 1940) is a Hawaiian-born Japanese former professional boxer. He is a former Undisputed, WBA and WBC super lightweight (light welterweight) champion.

Early life and education Born in 1940, Paul Fujii was a third-generation Japanese-Hawaiian.

Amateur career During his amateur boxing career, Fujii had a record of 116 wins and 16 losses over a total of 132 fights. In October 1967, Sports Illustrated noted that at the time, Fujii was one of only two world champions recognized by the WBA who was a native of the United States; the other nine were from other countries.

Fujii successfully defended his world junior welterweight title in November 1967, after knocking out Willy Quatuor of West Germany. In December, 1968, he faced Nicolino Locche to defend his WBA light welterweight title, but gave up in the 10th round. Fujii's record as the undisputed world champion in the 140-pound (63.5 kg) class in 1968 was not repeated until 2001, when Russian Australian Kostya Tszyu claimed the IBF, WBA, and WBC titles.

Professional boxing record

Titles in boxing Major world titles WBA light welterweight champion (140 lbs) WBC light welterweight champion (140 lbs)

The Ring magazine titles The Ring light welterweight champion (140 lbs)

Regional/International titles Japanese light welterweight champion (140 lbs) OPBF light welterweight champion (140 lbs)

Undisputed titles Undisputed light welterweight champion

Film Paul Fujii starred in a feature-length film playing himself called The Story of Paul Fujii, which was released in 1968.

Personal life After retiring as a professional boxer, Fujii returned to Hawaii. In 1996, he moved back to Japan, briefly serving as chairman of the Iwaki Kyōei Gym. He went on to teach boxing mainly to children in Mito, Ibaraki, until the gym went bankrupt in June 2015.

In August 2015, Fujii registered as a special trainer at a gym in Ōta, Tokyo. At the time, his wife and two of his children were living in Hawaii, while his eldest son's family lived in Japan.