Yoshio Shirai

Yoshio Shirai is one of those figures who makes you stop and think about what it actually took to be first. Born in Arakawa, Tokyo in 1923, he fought during a time when Japan was literally rebuilding itself from rubble, and in May 1952 he climbed into the ring and beat Dado Marino to become the first Japanese boxer ever to hold a world title — flyweight champion of the world. That's not a footnote, that's a door being kicked open for every Japanese fighter who came after him. His pro record was 48-8-2, he made four title defenses, and he was inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1977. The government gave him the Order of the Rising Sun for his contributions to boxing. He passed away in December 2003 at eighty years old. I never saw him fight, but just knowing he existed and did what he did in that particular era gives me a deep respect for the man.

Yoshio Shirai (November 23, 1923 – December 26, 2003) was a Japanese professional boxer born in Arakawa, Tokyo. He became a towering figure in postwar Japanese sports, representing national pride and resilience at the international level. His contributions to boxing in Japan were formally recognized with the Order of the Rising Sun, Fourth Class with Small Ribbon. He passed away in December 2003 at the age of 80.

Name (English)

Yoshio Shirai

Name (Japanese)

白井義男

Reading

しらい よしお

Born

November 23, 1923 – December 26, 2003

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Sagittarius / Boar (亥)

Origin

Arakawa, Tokyo, Japan

Occupation

Boxer

Awards & achievements

• Order of the Rising Sun, Fourth Class with Small Ribbon

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%99%BD%E4%BA%95%E7%BE%A9%E7%94%B7

Tags

• From Tokyo
• Boxer

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.