Kuniaki Shibata (柴田 国明, born March 29, 1947) is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1977. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the World Boxing Council (WBC) and Ring magazine featherweight titles from 1970 to 1972, the World Boxing Association (WBA) and Ring magazine super-featherweight titles in 1973, and the WBC super-featherweight title from 1974 to 1975.

Biography Shibata won his debut match in 1965 with a first-round knockout, and fought for the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation featherweight title in 1969, but lost by sixth-round knockout. In April 1970 he challenged for the vacant Japanese featherweight title, and won by tenth-round knockout. He relinquished the title to challenge WBC featherweight champion Vicente Saldivar, and won the title when Saldivar gave up after the twelfth round.

He made his first defense by first-round knockout, and retained his title in his second defense with a draw, but lost to Clemente Sanchez in May, 1972.

Shibata moved up to super featherweight, and got his second world title shot against Lineal and WBA champion Ben Villaflor in Honolulu on March 12, 1973. He won by fifteen-round unanimous decision to capture his second world title.

Shibata made one defense in Japan before returning to the United States to fight Ben Villaflor again for his second defense. Shibata lost by knockout less than 2 minutes into the first round to lose his second world title.

On February 28, 1974, he challenged Ricardo Arredondo for the WBC super featherweight title, and won by unanimous decision for his third world title. He defended the title three times before losing to Alfredo Escalera in 1975. He attempted another comeback, but announced his retirement in 1977. His record was 47-6-3 (25 KOs).

Shibata was a short and speedy fighter, who took advantage of even the slightest openings to throw in a flurry of punches. However, he also had a very weak chin, and was very susceptible to counter punches. Five of his six career losses were by knockout. He and former WBC lightweight champion Guts Ishimatsu were gym mates, and both fighters were trained by Eddie Townsend.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes56WinAl EspinosaPTS10Nov 29, 197555Win46–6–3 Susumu OkabeUD10Oct 10, 197554Win45–6–3 Tamio NegishiUD10Mar 22, 197553Loss44–6–3 Alfredo EscaleraKO2 (15), Jul 5, 197552Win44–5–3 Abdelkader Ould MakhloufiUD15Mar 27, 197551Win43–5–3 Ramiro BolanosKO15 (15), Oct 3, 197450Win42–5–3 Antonio AmayaMD15Jun 27, 197449Win41–5–3 Ricardo ArredondoUD15Feb 28, 197448Loss40–5–3Ben VillaflorKO1 (15), Oct 17, 197347Win40–4–3 Nam Chul ChungKO2 (10), Sep 3, 197346Win39–4–3 Victor Federico EchegarayUD15Jun 19, 197345Win38–4–3Ben VillaflorUD15Mar 12, 197344Win37–4–3 Kimio ShindoKO7 (10), Feb 3, 197343Loss36–4–3 Andries SteynPTS10Oct 7, 197242Win36–3–3Bert NabalatanUD10Jul 11, 197241Loss35–3–3 Clemente SánchezKO3 (15), May 19, 197240Draw35–2–3 Ernesto MarcelSD15Nov 11, 197139Win35–2–2 Hyun KimUD10Aug 1, 197138Win34–2–2 Raul CruzKO1 (15), Jun 3, 197137Win33–2–2 Vicente GarciaPTS10Mar 7, 197136Win32–2–2 Vicente SaldivarRTD12 (15), Dec 11, 197035Win31–2–2 Hyun KimUD10Sep 9, 197034Draw30–2–2 Jose AcostaMD10Jul 8, 197033Win30–2–1 Yasuo SakuraiKO10 (10), Apr 15, 197032Win29–2–1 Felipe TorresUD10Feb 4, 197031Win28–2–1Flash BesandeKO3 (10), Oct 22, 196930Win27–2–1 Fernando SoteloKO9 (10), Sep 10, 196929Win26–2–1 Yoshio AndoKO8 (10), Jun 11, 196928Win25–2–1Kid BarriosKO1 (10), Apr 28, 196927Win24–2–1 Koji IkedaPTS10Mar 24, 196926Loss23–2–1 Hubert KangKO6 (12), Jan 15, 196925Win23–1–1Orlando MedinaUD10Oct 23, 196824Draw22–1–1 Toshiharu MoriTD3 (10), Aug 14, 196823Win22–1 Beto MaldonadoPTS10Jul 3, 196822Loss21–1 Dwight HawkinsKO7 (10), Mar 27, 196821Win21–0 Ramiro NidesPTS10Mar 1, 196820Win20–0Tiny PalacioKO5 (10), Jan 31, 196819Win19–0 Soo Bok KwonKO2 (10), Dec 27, 196718Win18–0 Chang Bok LeeKO2 (10), Dec 5, 196717Win17–0 Chang Soo YunRTD9 (10), Nov 15, 196716Win16–0Roy AmolongUD10Sep 20, 196715Win15–0Roberto AndradeKO5 (10), Aug 9, 196714Win14–0 Katsutoshi AokiKO1 (10), Jul 5, 196713Win13–0 Hyun KimPTS10Mar 5, 196712Win12–0 Hiroshi MiyataKO4 (10), Feb 12, 196711Win11–0Alberto ReyesPTS10Jan 15, 196710Win10–0 Kenji FuseKO2 (8), Dec 11, 19669Win9–0 Atsushi GunjiKO6 (8), Oct 23, 19668Win8–0 Masachika TokutomeKO5 (6), Jan 31, 19667Win7–0 Takao SuzukiKO1 (6), Dec 20, 19656Win6–0 Toshihiko NojiriPTS4Nov 1, 19655Win5–0 Yoshinobu YokoyamaKO1 (4), Sep 27, 19654Win4–0 Masaru MiyazakiPTS4Sep 2, 19653Win3–0 Norio SugimotoKO1 (4), Jul 28, 19652Win2–0 Hitoshi YoshinoKO1 (4), Apr 5, 19651Win1–0 Seiichi IizukaKO1 (4), Mar 6, 1965

See also List of super featherweight boxing champions Lineal championship List of WBA world champions List of WBC world champions List of Japanese boxing world champions Boxing in Japan

References

External links

Kuniaki Shibata - CBZ Profile