Hiromasa Urakawa, The Second Japanese Boxer Who DIEd In A Brain Injury After The Match In Tokyo

Hiromasa Urakawa, died of a brain injury. (photo; x @_NOALCOMUNISMO)

JAKARTA - Hiromasa Urakawa, a 28-year-old Japanese boxer, died of a brain injury he suffered while competing in Tokyo.

Urakawa lost by knockout in the eighth round in her fight against Yoji Saito on August 2, 2025, and died on Saturday 9 August.

The sad news comes just a day after the death of Shigetoshi Kotari, another Japanese boxer who also suffered a fatal injury in a separate match on the same match card at the Korakuen Hall, Tokyo.

The two boxers had surgery due to a subdural hematoma when there was a buildup of blood between the skull and the brain.

The WBO mourns the passing of Japanese boxer Hiromasa Urakawa, who tragically succumbed to injuries sustained during his fight against Yoji Saito on August 2 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

This heartbreaking news comes just days after the passing of Shigetoshi Kotari, who died from… pic.twitter.com/CDzoSmKU2d

— WBO (@WorldBoxingOrg) August 9, 2025

The WBO month's the passing of Japanese boxer Hiromasa Urakawa, who tragically succeeded to successfully survive his fight against Yoji Saito on August 2 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

This breaking news comes just days after the passing of Shigetoshi Kotari, who died from... pic.twitter.com/CDzoSmKU2d

The World Boxing Organization (WBO) extends its deep condolences. We mourn the death of Japanese boxer Hiromasa Urakawa, who tragically died as a result of his injury against Yoji Saito. This heartbreaking news comes just days after the departure of Shigetoshi Kotari. We express our deepest sympathy for Japan's family, friends and boxing community in this difficult time," WBO said in a post on X.

Following the incident, the Japanese Boxing Commission (JBC) announced that all OPBF (Orintal and Pacific Boxing Federation) title matches will now be limited to 10 rounds, from the previous 12 rounds.

Japanese media reports JBC has started an investigation and plans to hold a meeting in September to discuss these two deaths.

Urakawa became the third high-profile boxer to die in 2025. Previously, Irish boxer John Comoney, also 28 years old, died in February of brain hemorrhage after competing against Wales boxer Nathan Howells in Belfast.