Arataka turns professional with Ohashi Gym!
On Thursday Ohashi Gym held a press conference to announce yet another major signing from the incredibly strong Japanese amateur scene. This time it was 22 year old Kazuma Arataka [荒竹一真], who will look to begin his career as a professional Minimumweight, and is expected to be fast tracked after a stellar amateur career.
Arataka began boxing in 5th elementary school and stepped up his training in Junior High School. Under the watchful eye of his father Toshiya Arataka, he rapidly developed and won 5 High School titles, with his winning run at the tournament only being denied another title due to the Pandemic. He then went on to win an All Japan Championship and the Elorde Cup in the Philippines, and run up a record 58-7 (11) record.
Talking about his development Arataka revealed "As I continued boxing, I aimed to be the best in Japan as an amateur, then challenged myself in international tournaments, and from college I began to want to go professional," He then added that he joined the Ohashi Gym due to to the talent there, specifically Undisputed Super Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25) [井上尚弥].
Regarding the immediate plans, Arataka will take part in a B class pro-test on April 10th, and his debut has been pencilled in for May 28th in Yokohama. Of course given his amateur exploits there are expectations on his shoulders, and this was something his father is award of, explaining "The fact that so many people have been paying attention to him even before his debut is the result of all his hard work as an amateur. Now that he's entered the professional world, I want him to give it his all."
At the Ohashi gym he will be trained by Ota Mitsuaki, with Hideyuki Ohashi explaining that "He's an excellent trainer who has held Inoue Naoya's gloves and has absorbed a lot of knowledge." As for Ota himself, he praised Arataka's high potential, saying, "Arataka is a lightweight boxer who is good at both offense and defense and has good footwork." As for Arataka's himself he highlighted some of his strong points explaining, "Speed and stamina are my strengths, but I would like to improve my power and ability to handle 8-ounce gloves, which are necessary for a professional boxer."
His confidence showed through with the youngster saying "My goal is to become world champion within three years. I want to become a worthy world champion by winning multiple weight classes and becoming a unified champion,". Ohashi was a little bit more apprehensive, though seemed confident as he added "I'll wait until I see his debut match, but I'd like to consider pushing him at an early stage."
Arataka began boxing in 5th elementary school and stepped up his training in Junior High School. Under the watchful eye of his father Toshiya Arataka, he rapidly developed and won 5 High School titles, with his winning run at the tournament only being denied another title due to the Pandemic. He then went on to win an All Japan Championship and the Elorde Cup in the Philippines, and run up a record 58-7 (11) record.
Talking about his development Arataka revealed "As I continued boxing, I aimed to be the best in Japan as an amateur, then challenged myself in international tournaments, and from college I began to want to go professional," He then added that he joined the Ohashi Gym due to to the talent there, specifically Undisputed Super Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25) [井上尚弥].
Regarding the immediate plans, Arataka will take part in a B class pro-test on April 10th, and his debut has been pencilled in for May 28th in Yokohama. Of course given his amateur exploits there are expectations on his shoulders, and this was something his father is award of, explaining "The fact that so many people have been paying attention to him even before his debut is the result of all his hard work as an amateur. Now that he's entered the professional world, I want him to give it his all."
At the Ohashi gym he will be trained by Ota Mitsuaki, with Hideyuki Ohashi explaining that "He's an excellent trainer who has held Inoue Naoya's gloves and has absorbed a lot of knowledge." As for Ota himself, he praised Arataka's high potential, saying, "Arataka is a lightweight boxer who is good at both offense and defense and has good footwork." As for Arataka's himself he highlighted some of his strong points explaining, "Speed and stamina are my strengths, but I would like to improve my power and ability to handle 8-ounce gloves, which are necessary for a professional boxer."
His confidence showed through with the youngster saying "My goal is to become world champion within three years. I want to become a worthy world champion by winning multiple weight classes and becoming a unified champion,". Ohashi was a little bit more apprehensive, though seemed confident as he added "I'll wait until I see his debut match, but I'd like to consider pushing him at an early stage."