# Kuniaki Shibata

Kuniaki Shibata (柴田 国明, born March 29, 1947, in Hitachi, Japan) is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1977. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC and The Ring featherweight titles from 1970 to 1972, the WBA and The Ring 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

| 56 fights | 47 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 25 | 5 |
| By decision | 22 | 1 |
| Draws | 3 | 3 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
| 56 | Win | 47–6–3 | Al Espinosa | PTS | 10 | Nov 29, 1975 | Korakuen Hall, Japan | |
| 55 | Win | 46–6–3 | Susumu Okabe | UD | 10 | Oct 10, 1975 | Korakuen Hall, Japan | |
| 54 | Win | 45–6–3 | Tamio Negishi | UD | 10 | Mar 22, 1975 | Akita City, Japan | |
| 53 | Loss | 44–6–3 | Alfredo Escalera | KO | 2 (15), 2:56 | Jul 5, 1975 | Kasamatsu Athletic Park Gym, Hitachinaka, Japan | Lost WBC super-featherweight title |
| 52 | Win | 44–5–3 | Abdelkader Ould Makhloufi | UD | 15 | Mar 27, 1975 | Kyuden Gym, Fukuoka, Japan | Retained WBC super-featherweight title |
| 51 | Win | 43–5–3 | Ramiro Bolanos | KO | 15 (15), 2:29 | Oct 3, 1974 | Nihon University Auditorium, Japan | Retained WBC super-featherweight title |
| 50 | Win | 42–5–3 | Antonio Amaya | MD | 15 | Jun 27, 1974 | Nihon University Auditorium, Japan | Retained WBC super-featherweight title |
| 49 | Win | 41–5–3 | Ricardo Arredondo | UD | 15 | Feb 28, 1974 | Nihon University Auditorium, Japan | Won WBC super-featherweight title |
| 48 | Loss | 40–5–3 | Ben Villaflor | KO | 1 (15), 1:56 | Oct 17, 1973 | Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | Lost WBA and The Ring super-featherweight titles |
| 47 | Win | 40–4–3 | Nam Chul Chung | KO | 2 (10), 0:49 | Sep 3, 1973 | Hitachi, Japan | |
| 46 | Win | 39–4–3 | Victor Federico Echegaray | UD | 15 | Jun 19, 1973 | Nihon University Auditorium, Japan | Retained WBA and The Ring super-featherweight titles |
| 45 | Win | 38–4–3 | Ben Villaflor | UD | 15 | Mar 12, 1973 | Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | Won WBA and The Ring super-featherweight titles |
| 44 | Win | 37–4–3 | Kimio Shindo | KO | 7 (10), 2:12 | Feb 3, 1973 | Sendai, Japan | |
| 43 | Loss | 36–4–3 | Andries Steyn | PTS | 10 | Oct 7, 1972 | Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa | |
| 42 | Win | 36–3–3 | Bert Nabalatan | UD | 10 | Jul 11, 1972 | Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |
| 41 | Loss | 35–3–3 | Clemente Sánchez | KO | 3 (15), 2:26 | May 19, 1972 | Nihon University Auditorium, Japan | Lost WBC and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 40 | Draw | 35–2–3 | Ernesto Marcel | SD | 15 | Nov 11, 1971 | Ehime Rugby Stadium, Matsuyama, Japan | Retained WBC and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 39 | Win | 35–2–2 | Hyun Kim | UD | 10 | Aug 1, 1971 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| 38 | Win | 34–2–2 | Raul Cruz | KO | 1 (15), 3:04 | Jun 3, 1971 | Metropolitan Gym, Japan | Retained WBC and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 37 | Win | 33–2–2 | Vicente Garcia | PTS | 10 | Mar 7, 1971 | Hitachi, Japan | |
| 36 | Win | 32–2–2 | Vicente Saldivar | RTD | 12 (15), 3:00 | Dec 11, 1970 | Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Mexico | Won WBC and The Ring featherweight titles |
| 35 | Win | 31–2–2 | Hyun Kim | UD | 10 | Sep 9, 1970 | Japan | |
| 34 | Draw | 30–2–2 | Jose Acosta | MD | 10 | Jul 8, 1970 | Korakuen Hall, Japan | |
| 33 | Win | 30–2–1 | Yasuo Sakurai | KO | 10 (10), 0:44 | Apr 15, 1970 | Japan | Won vacant Japanese featherweight title |
| 32 | Win | 29–2–1 | Felipe Torres | UD | 10 | Feb 4, 1970 | Japan | |
| 31 | Win | 28–2–1 | Flash Besande | KO | 3 (10), 1:56 | Oct 22, 1969 | Osaka, Japan | |
| 30 | Win | 27–2–1 | Fernando Sotelo | KO | 9 (10), 1:07 | Sep 10, 1969 | Japan | |
| 29 | Win | 26–2–1 | Yoshio Ando | KO | 8 (10), 2:58 | Jun 11, 1969 | Japan | |
| 28 | Win | 25–2–1 | Kid Barrios | KO | 1 (10), 2:10 | Apr 28, 1969 | Japan | |
| 27 | Win | 24–2–1 | Koji Ikeda | PTS | 10 | Mar 24, 1969 | Japan | |
| 26 | Loss | 23–2–1 | Hubert Kang | KO | 6 (12), 1:14 | Jan 15, 1969 | Japan | For OPBF featherweight title |
| 25 | Win | 23–1–1 | Orlando Medina | UD | 10 | Oct 23, 1968 | Korakuen Hall, Japan | |
| 24 | Draw | 22–1–1 | Toshiharu Mori | TD | 3 (10), 0:38 | Aug 14, 1968 | Japan | |
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | Beto Maldonado | PTS | 10 | Jul 3, 1968 | Korakuen Hall, Japan | |
| 22 | Loss | 21–1 | Dwight Hawkins | KO | 7 (10), 1:14 | Mar 27, 1968 | Korakuen Hall, Japan | |
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Ramiro Nides | PTS | 10 | Mar 1, 1968 | Recreation Center, Agana, Guam | |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Tiny Palacio | KO | 5 (10), 1:51 | Jan 31, 1968 | Japan | |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Soo Bok Kwon | KO | 2 (10), 1:19 | Dec 27, 1967 | Japan | |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Chang Bok Lee | KO | 2 (10), 1:50 | Dec 5, 1967 | Hitachi, Japan | |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Chang Soo Yun | RTD | 9 (10), 3:00 | Nov 15, 1967 | Gifu, Japan | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Roy Amolong | UD | 10 | Sep 20, 1967 | Korakuen Hall, Japan | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Roberto Andrade | KO | 5 (10), 2:05 | Aug 9, 1967 | Korakuen Hall, Japan | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Katsutoshi Aoki | KO | 1 (10), 1:52 | Jul 5, 1967 | Japan | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Hyun Kim | PTS | 10 | Mar 5, 1967 | Japan | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Hiroshi Miyata | KO | 4 (10), 1:47 | Feb 12, 1967 | Japan | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Alberto Reyes | PTS | 10 | Jan 15, 1967 | Japan | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Kenji Fuse | KO | 2 (8), 1:52 | Dec 11, 1966 | Japan | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Atsushi Gunji | KO | 6 (8), 2:51 | Oct 23, 1966 | Japan | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Masachika Tokutome | KO | 5 (6), 1:16 | Jan 31, 1966 | Osaka, Japan | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Takao Suzuki | KO | 1 (6), 1:50 | Dec 20, 1965 | Japan | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Toshihiko Nojiri | PTS | 4 | Nov 1, 1965 | Japan | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Yoshinobu Yokoyama | KO | 1 (4), 0:34 | Sep 27, 1965 | Japan | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Masaru Miyazaki | PTS | 4 | Sep 2, 1965 | Japan | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Norio Sugimoto | KO | 1 (4), 1:40 | Jul 28, 1965 | Japan | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Hitoshi Yoshino | KO | 1 (4), 0:58 | Apr 5, 1965 | Japan | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Seiichi Iizuka | KO | 1 (4), 1:40 | Mar 6, 1965 | Japan | |