A memorial service for Guts Ishimatsu, who passed away on 2 June at the age of 76, was held on the afternoon of the 2nd at Korakuen Hall, the mecca of boxing. Over 40 former and current world champions, including Naoya Inoue and Masahiko Harada (Fighting Harada), attended the service. Numerous industry figures and devoted fans also took part. They paid tribute to Guts’s achievements during his lifetime and laid flowers to mourn his passing.
新旧世界王者が参列したお別れ会
This kind of farewell ceremony is extremely unusual in the world of boxing; it was organised primarily by the Professional Boxing World Champions’ Association, founded by Guts, and by a group of former members of the Yonekura Gym, led by Hideyuki Ohashi. Shigeo Nakajima, who was also one of his juniors, served as the chair of the organising committee. A ring was set up at the venue, Korakuen Hall, and alongside a portrait of the deceased, the venue was decorated with his trademark striped raincoat, a three-cornered hat, and even boxing gloves made of red flowers.
メディアのインタビューに応じる浜田、具志堅、大橋各氏（左から）
Tsuyoshi Hamada, who has become the second president of the World Champions’ Association, paid tribute, saying, ‘In an era when it was difficult to challenge for the world title even if you had the ability, successfully defending the lightweight title five times was a feat that is unimaginable today.’ He added, ‘Mr Ishimatsu, please do not worry and take your time to rest,’ and expressed his determination to carry on the legacy of the World Champions’ Association founded by the late boxer.
Yokou Gushiken recalled watching Guts train before his own professional debut at the age of 18, saying, ‘He taught me the rigour of the professional game, which is different from the amateur level.’ He revealed that, after his retirement, he had continued his career as a television personality with Guts as his role model. They often appeared on the same programmes and were close friends both professionally and personally. ‘I still wanted to spend time with him and work with him,’ he lamented. He said that the last words he heard from Guts were, ‘Let’s do our best to boost the popularity of boxing.’
Hideyuki Ohashi, chairman of Yonekura Gym and a junior to Guts, said, ‘He gave me advice on numerous occasions.’ He recalled that when they met at a wedding reception for a mutual acquaintance, Guts told him he would teach him his ‘legendary right’ and made him do shadow boxing repeatedly in the toilet. “I attended the wedding drenched in sweat, even though it was the dead of winter,” he said, sharing the memory and drawing laughter from the crowd.
Yonekura Gym has produced five world champions, including Guts and Chairman Ohashi, whilst Ohashi Gym also had five at that point. “We will continue to fight towards our sixth world champion. Please watch over us warmly and cheer us on from heaven, together with Chairman Yonekura,’ he said, before leaving the venue a little earlier than the others. Chairman Ohashi, who was also the promoter of the double world title fight held in Yokohama that evening, had realised his long-cherished wish with Takeshi Ishii’s world title victory.
From the entertainment world, the TV personality Hanawa made an appearance, strumming his guitar as he performed his signature song, ‘The Legend of Guts’. It was a lively farewell party, befitting the cheerful personality of Guts Ishimatsu.
