Tsuyoshi Hamada

is a retired Japanese professional boxer who is a former WBC world junior welterweight champion.

Biography Hamada was born in Nakagusuku, Okinawa, and began boxing at the age of fifteen. He won the Japan's inter-high school championship in the featherweight division in 1978. He had an amateur record of 37–6 (28 KOs).

Professional boxing career Having turned professional in 1979, he made his debut under his real name Tsuyoshi Hamada, written as 浜田 剛, he also captured the OPBF lightweight title in Naha, Okinawa, in the next fight on July 7. However, as he had damaged the meniscus of his right knee before that match, his boxing career was interrupted again. Originally Hamada excelled in the left cross, but during a long period that he underwent medical treatment for his fist injury, he intensively practiced the right hook which brought him a championship belt. in the first round to gain the WBC world junior welterweight title. In his first defense on December 2 of that year, he beat Ronnie Shields who had 270 amateur fights including a victory over Thomas Hearns, by a split decision. On July 22, 1987, he rematched Arredondo in his second defense where he lost the title via a sixth-round technical knockout. Those three world title matches were all held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, and one million spectators altogether attended them. He aimed at the recapture of the title, but opted for retirement, because his right knee injury did not recover and because Arredondo had been no longer a champion after losing to Roger Mayweather in his first defense.

Currently Hamada is a commentator of the boxing broadcast on Nippon Television and WOWOW. He monthly writes a review which analyzes the world's leading boxers for the Japanese boxing magazine Boxing Beat, and is also the representative director of the company that manufactures and sells health foods and supplements. Since March 14, 2007, he is the representative of the Teiken Promotions that is a relevant organization to the Teiken Boxing Gym to which he had belonged during his career as a boxer.

The main protagonist of the manga Hajime no Ippo, Makunouchi Ippo is loosely based on Hamada.