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"One day I will definitely silence those who say 'it's impossible'"

Professional boxer Shokichi Iwata

At Teiken Boxing Gym, where he is a member

Shokichi Iwata, 28 years old, is a professional boxer and World Boxing Organization (WBO) light flyweight champion. On October 13, 2024, the new champion won the championship belt with a powerful left hook. He graduated from School of Sport Sciences at Waseda University. He was widely reported in the news as the "first world champion from Waseda University." How was this historic feat achieved? Despite being repeatedly told by those around him that it was "impossible," the man who reached the top of the world still had the words of his teacher from his student days in his fists, creating a unique punch.

A career like no other! Things you can only find at Waseda

In a boxing gym where a variety of sounds intermingle - the creaking of punching bags, the grinding of shoes, the sparring buzzer and the breathing of the fighters - the world champion quietly began to talk about his past.

"When I was a freshman in high school, I had the opportunity to watch Waseda University sports teams compete in boxing and marathons wearing uniforms with the letter 'W' and crimson on their backs. I thought they were really cool. I aspired to be one of those athletes who compete wearing the letter 'W' and crimson on their backs."

November 1996, when I put on boxing gloves for the first time at age 0

Iwata reflects on why he chose Waseda. He said that he had been involved in various martial arts since he was 9 years old, and started focusing on boxing in his second year of junior high school. During his high school years, he defeated such strong opponents as Kosei Tanaka and Takuma Inoue (※), who would later go on to dominate the world, and won the Inter-High School Championships.

(※) Kosei Tanaka...4-time world champion, Takuma Inoue...former World Boxing Association (WBA) World Bantamweight champion

Despite his achievements, Iwata did not go on to become a professional boxer, instead choosing to go to Waseda University. At the time, Waseda's boxing club was at a level where it was moving between the second and third divisions in the Kanto University League, but Iwata had no doubts.

"It's too early to turn professional and enter society straight after graduating from high school. I chose to go to Waseda University because I felt that there is more to life than just boxing. I was convinced that the things I could meet and experience only at Waseda, including friends of my age and academics, in addition to club activities, would be invaluable assets for my future self."

In fact, Iwata had many irreplaceable encounters at Waseda University. One of them was with three fellow members of the boxing club.

"I enrolled with the intention of going professional, but the other three members all started boxing in college. All three eventually went professional. I think I was able to convey the appeal of boxing, and it's really encouraging to see members of the boxing club gather together and come to support my matches even now."

Left: In December 2016, when he was a second-year student, Iwata wore a crimson uniform at the Waseda-Keio match at Hiyoshi Memorial Hall (Photo: Waseda University Boxing Club)
Right: Published in the Waseda Sports Newspaper on November 5, 2017. From the left, Iwata, his classmate and head of the department, Niimura,Ryosuke Inoue  (graduated from School of Sport Sciences in 2018), and Yasutaka Fujita  (graduated from School of Social Sciences in 2018). Inoue and Fujita are currently active as professional boxers. (Photo: Waseda Sports Newspaper Association)

While he was still a student and competing with his classmates, Iwata had publicly proclaimed that he would be the first Waseda graduate to become a world champion. However, due to the lack of precedent and the level and environment of the boxing club at the time, his claims were perceived as nothing more than big talk.

"99.9% of people told me it was impossible. Some said, 'What's the point of doing that? You'd be better off just getting a normal job.' But I felt motivated because I thought, 'No one has done it before, so it's worth doing.' Actually, I was adamant that 'Waseda sports have to be strong!'"

He wanted to do things that no one else had done before, so in 2018, while still a university student, he made his professional debut, which took place in America, the home of boxing, which was quite unusual.

"In fact, I could have made my debut right away in Japan, but due to the policies of the US government at the time, it took a long time to issue a visa, so I had to wait just under a year after deciding to make my debut. Still, I had a strong desire to 'build a career like no other'. By continuing to strongly desire to fight in the home of boxing, which I had dreamed of since I was a child, I was able to make my dream come true."

Even if people around me reject me... I'm okay with being edgy

On October 13, 2024, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, he defeated Spain's Jairo Noriega by TKO in the third round to win the WBO World Light Flyweight Championship (Photo: Kyodo News)

Iwata won his debut match in the United States by knockout. He then became the Japanese light flyweight champion in just his seventh match since his debut. He continued to win, and in November 2022, in his 10th match since his debut, he will compete in his first world match, the WBO World Light Flyweight Title Match. However, his wish was not fulfilled, and he suffered his first professional loss in this world match. What did he learn from the defeat?

"Until then, I had only thought about how to improve my weapons and strengths. But in this match, I was unable to catch my opponent as he ran away and lost by decision. It was my first world match and the judges were all foreigners, so I was overwhelmed and shaken up. In the end, I was just inexperienced. To overcome this, I felt that in addition to improving my technique so that I could handle styles that I was not good at, I also needed to hone my mind and soul."

Unlike technical improvements, there is no right answer when it comes to "honing the spirit and soul." Iwata recalls that he had to struggle through the difficult days before he was able to reach the title match again. What supported him during those times was the teaching of his student teacher, Professor Masayuki Ishii  of School of Sport Sciences, that "the roots of sports are entertainment, and we must not forget the sense of fun."

With Professor Ishii. A photo of me reporting on my status as world champion.

"Of course, stepping into the ring as a professional means that your livelihood depends on it, you have to lose more than 10 kilograms, and it can even be life-threatening at times. Even in the extreme conditions inside the cage of the ring where no one will help you, remembering Professor Ishii's teaching that 'you should never forget to have fun' makes it a little easier. In fact, if I had forgotten that it was just for fun, it would have been difficult to express myself and achieve results."

In this way, Iwata finally won the championship belt in his second world match after a year and 11 months. The man who achieved a goal that everyone denied as impossible has something he wants to say to young students who are chasing their dreams.

"Regardless of whether you achieve results or not, I want you to be proud of yourself and stick to the feeling that 'this is how I want to be, this is what I want to do.' It's okay to remain sharp. There are many regrettable things in life, but in my case, I have come this far with the sole desire to one day silence those who told me 'it's impossible.' Anyway, I want to say to everyone that we should believe in ourselves and do our best."

In fact, the phrase "It's okay to stay sharp" was also given to him by Professor Ishii.

"When I was a student, I was a lot more edgy than I am now (laughs). But Professor Ishii would tell me, 'Shokichi, be edgy when you need to be. It's easy to become mellow.' It made me feel a lot better, knowing that it's okay to be myself."

What are the future goals of this edgy man?

"First of all, as a boxer, I want to prove that I am the strongest by winning all four world championships in my current weight class. But more than that, I want to someday give back to the Waseda boxing club and to the younger generation by using my experience. I don't know when that will be, and I don't know what position I'll take, whether as a coach, but I would be very happy if I could get to a position where I can prove that 'Waseda boxing is strong and cool.'"

OB岩田翔吉先輩のWBO世界ライトフライ級王座決定戦を観に行きました🥊✨

The result was a third-round TKO victory, and I was overwhelmed with emotion as I witnessed him become world champion.

本当におめでとうございます👑🌍 pic.twitter.com/b0zdKDrJp3

— Waseda University Boxing Club (@wasedaboxing) October 17, 2024

From Waseda University Boxing Club X