Jin Sasaki, who was knocked out by shock and knocked out, is rushed to hospital, loses memory for a month and a half before the match, CT scan shows no bleeding, gym president reports "he hit the back of his head hard and lost memory"
"Boxing WBO World Welterweight Title Match" (19th, Ota Ward General Gymnasium)
Jin Sasaki (23) of Hachioji Nakaya, ranked second in the same class, challenged the champion Brian Norman (24) of the United States, but was knocked out in the fifth round, 46 seconds. This meant that a Japanese fighter could not become the first to win a welterweight world title. He was hit with a powerful counter left hook, fell backwards, hit the back of his head and passed out flat on his back. He was carried away on a stretcher and was conscious and able to talk, but was taken to the hospital by ambulance just in case. According to Issei Nakaya, president of his gym, who accompanied him to the hospital, Sasaki had lost his memory of the month and a half before the match and said, "I don't even remember that this title match was decided."
Sasaki swung powerful punches boldly from the beginning, but was knocked down by a counter left one minute into the match, and then knocked down a second time by another left. In the second round, he was hit with a short right and staggered, but Sasaki fought back. He even cornered Norman in one scene. In the third round, he was on the receiving end of a fierce attack and was staggering, but he fought back, shouting "Come on, come on!" as if to encourage himself. However, in the fifth round, he was hit with a powerful counter left hook and fell flat on his back, losing by knockout. The crowd cheered, saying "Thank you!" and "That was amazing!"
This was the first world championship in the welterweight division to be held in Japan in 36 years, and Sasaki became the fifth Japanese fighter to attempt the championship. If he had been crowned champion, it would have been a first for him to achieve this feat, but his dream was shattered.
As he was rushed to hospital after the match, the post-match press conference was cancelled. The president of his gym, Nakaya Issei, released a statement, saying, "Jin Sasaki was taken to the hospital after the match and underwent a CT scan. There were no injuries such as bleeding. However, he hit the back of his head hard and is currently losing his memory. There were no visible physical injuries, but we will be keeping an eye on him and he will be going back to the hospital tomorrow for another checkup."
