Former World Boxing Association interim flyweight champion Koki Eto said on July 28 that he will hang up his gloves, citing his ‘’old’’ age as the main reason.

The 32-year-old Eto, who hails from Japan’s southernmost prefecture of Okinawa just like his manager Yoko Gushiken, won the title in August 2013 with a unanimous decision over Kompayak Porpramook of Thailand in Bangkok.

Although the Japan Boxing Commission did not recognize the WBA’s interim crown due to the existence of many so-called ‘’world champions,’ it is worth mentioning the fact that Eto won ‘’the world title’’ in Thailand since no Japanese had ever beaten a Thai boxer in world championship bouts by then. At that time, Japan had lost 17 of the 18 world title bouts in the country with only one draw.

After losing his crown in his first title defense, Eto won the Oriental-Pacific Boxing Federation flyweight championship and successfully defended it twice.

His last fight came in August last year when he dropped a decision to Puerto Rico’s Jeyvier Cintron for the World Boxing Organization’s vacant super flyweight title in the United States’ Florida.

His lifetime record was 24 wins, including 19 knockouts, against five defeats, one draw and one no decision. Shirai Gushiken Sports Gym, to which Eto belonged during his 11-year professional career, will be closed down at the end of this July.