User:Mschorn1/sandbox/Taro Minato

Taro Minato
Born	Yoshiharu Tashiro (1971-09-21)21 September 1971 Kawasaki City, Japan
Died	(2018-04-11)11 April 2018 (aged 46) Tokyo, Japan
Native name	港太郎
Nationality	Japanese
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	83 kg (183 lb; 13.1 st)
Division	Middleweight Welterweight
Style	Muay Thai Kickboxing Shooto
Fighting out of	Tokyo, Japan
Team	KIBA Martial Arts Club Yamaki Boxing Gym Fuchū Muay Thai Club
Trainer	Toshihiro Yamaki (Muay Thai) Satoru Sayama (Shooto)
Years active	1991–1999, 2006 (Kickboxing) 2001-2005 (MMA)
Kickboxing record
Total	52
Wins	35
By knockout	18
Losses	13
Draws	4
Mixed martial arts record
Total	6
Wins	0
Losses	6
By submission	2
By decision	4
Other information
Notable relatives	Risuke Tashiro (brother)
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Last updated on: September 22, 2020

Yoshiharu Tashiro (Japanese: 田代 義治; September 21, 1971 – April 11, 2018), better known by his ring name Taro Minato (Japanese: 港太郎), was a Japanese kickboxer and mixed martial artist who fought professionally from 1991 to 1999 and from 2001 to 2006. After his initial retirement in 1999 until his death in 2018, he worked as a coach for the Yamaki Boxing Gym and his own Fuchū Muay Thai Club.

Over the course of his career, he became a national and world champion, and competed under kickboxing, Muay Thai, shoot boxing, sanshou, and MMA rule sets.

Biography

Early life

Minato was born on September 21, 1971 in Kanagawa Prefecture. As a junior high school student, he joined Satoru Sayama’s Super Tiger Gym and took part in amateur shooto competitions. After graduating high school, he studied Muay Thai in Thailand before transferring to the Yamaki Boxing Gym.

Kickboxing career

Making his professional kickboxing debut in May 1991, Minato established himself in the Martial Arts Japan Kickboxing Federation (MAJKF) and won the organization’s middleweight championship the following year. He soon developed a reputation for fighting major stars, beginning with a 1992 decision victory over karate champ Ryuji Murakami and hard-fought losses to Manson Gibson in the two years following. He made his K-1 debut at K-1 Legend by defeating Orlando Wiet. He drew with Muay Thai legend Nokweed Devy at the K-League Opening Fight event of 1995, then suffered a first-round knockout to Ramon Dekker later that year. In 1996, he became a world champion by knocking out Kevin Knicks for the UKF World Middleweight Championship.

Minato officially announced his retirement from kickboxing at a ceremony on December 24, 1999 but returned to the ring for at a final bout on June 10, 2006. At an event commemorating the 21st anniversary of the Yamaki Boxing Gym, he knocked out Optimus Yamashita in the third round. This set his final record at 35 wins with 18 KOs, 13 losses and 4 draws.

Mixed martial arts career

Following his initial retirement from kickboxing, Minato shifted to mixed martial arts competition. In his debut match on March 20, 2001, he was submitted by fellow kickboxing champ Naoyuki Taira. Over the following four years, Minato faced stern competition from fighters like Takafumi Ito, Satoru Kitaoka, Katsuya Inoue and Keita Nakamura. He retired in 2005 with a record of 0 wins and 6 losses.

Later career

Following his 1999 retirement, Minato became an instructor for his old training institution, the Yamaki Boxing Gym. He was with the school when it temporarily took on the name Alpha Boxing Gym in 2011, but departed to open his own establishment in November 2012 - the Fuchū Muay Thai Club.

Death

On April 4, 2018, Minato informed his students via Twitter that his gym would be closed due to his suffering a sudden illness. On April 6, he complained of lower back pain and visited a local hospital. On April 10, he announced on Twitter that the gym would remain closed and that he was having difficulty standing up. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance later that day, and died at 12:43 AM the following morning. The cause of death was reported as multiple organ failure.

The RISE martial arts promotion held a press conference the same day in Tokyo to inform the world of Minato’s passing. Fellow kickboxer and Yamaki Boxing Gym member Takashi Ito made the announcement, expressing his condolences for the loss of his colleague.

Fighting style

In a retrospective of his match against Ryuji Kurami, the website eFight described Minato as an “aggressive technician” who possessed strong punches and kicks, as well as mastery of Thai-style knees and elbows. In review of Minato's fight with Orlando Wiet, Mike Lorefice of Quebrada criticized Minato as “robotic” and “rigid” but praised his tactical prowess in utilizing elbows and strikes to the body. Following their first match in 1993, Manson Gibson praised Minato's powerful low kicks and declared him the toughest opponent he'd faced yet.

Titles

• Universal Kickboxing Federation
  • 1996 UKF World Middleweight Champion
  • 1994 UKF International Middleweight Champion
• Martial Arts Japan Kickboxing Federation
  • 1992 MAJKF Middleweight Champion

Kickboxing record (incomplete)

Kickboxing Record

35 Wins (18 KOs, 17 decisions), 13 Losses, 4 Draws Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record 2006-06-10 Win Optimus Yamashita Yamaki Gym 21st Anniversary Festival Japan KO 3 0:50 35-13-4 1999-05-14 Loss Nanphontone Bangkok MAJKF Kajiwara Ikki Cup ‘99 Japan Decision (Majority) 5 3:00 1999-04-24 Win Kenichi Nagata MAJKF Kickboxing Japan KO 1 2:07 1999-02-21 Win Sorujā Ogata MAJKF Kickboxing Japan Decision (Unanimous) 5 3:00 1998-11-14 Win Nanphontone Bangkok WSBA Ground Zero Tokyo Tokyo, Japan Decision (Majority) 5 3:00 30-12-4 1998-09-25 Loss Cung Le DRAKA World Championship 6 Los Angeles, USA KO (Head kick) 1 0:52 1998-09-05 Draw Kenichi Ogata WSBA The Coming Generation Tokyo, Japan Exhibition 2 2:00 Originally scheduled as a regular bout between Ogata and Luke Kenton, who was injured in a previous match. 1998-07-17 Win Toru Oishi MAJKF Kajiwara Ikki Cup ‘98 Japan KO 2 1:14 1998-03-14 Loss Taiei Kin MAJKF Battle of the Strongest Japan Decision 1997-11-09 Loss Taiei Kin K-1 Grand Prix '97 Final Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 5 3:00 1997-03-29 Win Sorujā Ogata MAJKF The Supreme of Kickboxing ‘97 Japan 1996-09-23 Win Kevin Knicks MAJKF World Champion Carnvial – Part 3 Japan KO 4 1:10 Wins the UKF World Middleweight Championship. 1996-07-14 Loss Mohamed Ouali Shoot Boxing – S-Cup 1996 Quarterfinal Tokyo, Japan KO (Right hook) 2 0:24 1996-06-02 Draw Hiromu Yoshitaka MAJKF World Champion Carnival – Part 2 Japan Draw 5 3:00 1995-10-15 Win Sagatkhan Attopatan WMC Muay Thai Bangkok, Thailand KO 5 1995-10-15 Win Chonbun Chor. Waikun MAJKF Kickboxing Japan KO 4 1:33 1995-08-30 Loss Pothai Chor. Waikun Thailand Decision (Unanimous) 5 3:00 1995-06-02 Loss Ramon Dekkers Yamaki Gym 10th Anniversary Festival Japan KO 1 0:39 1995-03-25 Draw Nokweed Devy K-League Opening Fight Japan Draw (1-0) 5 3:00 1994-12-10 Win Orlando Wiet K-1 Legend Nagoya, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 5 3:00 1994-06-10 Loss Manson Gibson UKF Kickboxing Tulsa, USA KO 3 2:34 17-2-1 Fight was for the UKF World Super Middleweight Championship. 1993-03-20 Draw Hiromu Yoshitaka MAJKF Kickboxing Japan Draw 5 3:00 1993-01-30 Loss Manson Gibson MAJKF Kickboxing Japan Decision 5 3:00 1992-07-07 Win Shinpet Ruranshi WKA Ikki Kajiwara Memorial Show '92 Martial Arts Festival Tokyo, Japan KO (Punches) 2 2:11 1992-05-23 Win Ryuji Murakami MAJKF Yamaki Gym 7th Anniversary Festival Japan Decision 5 3:00 1992-03-21 Win Satoru Tanaka MAJKF Seeking the Strongest VI Tokyo, Japan TKO (Doctor stoppage) 4 1:45 7-0 1992-01-18 Win Minoru Kida MAJKF Ogibashi Sports Club 1st Anniversary Festival Japan KO 1 2:31 Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Mixed martial arts record

Mixed Martial Arts Record

0 Wins, 6 Losses, 0 Draws Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time 2005-08-28 Loss Keita Nakamura GCM – Demolition 050828 Tokyo, Japan Submission (Rear-naked choke) 1 4:03 2003-12-27 Loss Katsuya Inoue GCM – Demolition 031227 Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 5:00 2002-10-22 Win Satoru Kitaoka Pancrase – Spirit 7 Tokyo, Japan Decision (Majority) 2 5:00 2002-05-06 Loss Manao Kumagai Premium Challenge 1 – Guardian vs. Explorer Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 1 10:00 2002-03-25 Loss Takafumi Ito Pancrase – Spirit 3 Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 2 5:00 2001-03-20 Loss Naoyuki Taira Rings – Battle Genesis Vol. 7 Tokyo, Japan Submission (Armlock) 1 6:37 Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

See also

• List of male kickboxers
• List of male mixed martial artists

External links

• Fuchū Muay Thai Club

Category:Japanese male kickboxers Category:Japanese male karateka Category:Japanese male mixed martial artists Category:People from Kawasaki, Kanagawa Category:1972 births Category:2018 deaths