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— ABOUT  Wasabi Stories… —

“Do your best in any environment”

Today’s story teller is a former boxing world champion, [W:Guts Ishimatsu].

His story started from the word that his boxing gym’s president Yonekura told him after he lost against a boxer from Panama in the world championship in 1973.

“Show your guts on the ring. Do it with all your might.”

During this championship, the president Yonekura saw through Ishimatsu’s mind that he was so exhausted that he wanted to be relieved. That is why, Yonekura pressed him hard.

Since then, he started to use ring name “Guts” after the Yonekura’s word.

Ishimatsu first went to Tokyo to be a boxer was when he was 15 year-old. Before that, he had stolen crops like potato in neighbor fields to fill up his empty stomach and got under probation.

“I want to change my life with my body!” With the strong will, he visited Yonekura’s gym.

At the world championship, he revealed his weakness that he can’t persevere at the last minute, and he truly felt he had been too optimistic.

Even though he had skill, if he didn’t have stamina that made him fight to the end, he couldn’t beat the world. So he immediately started strength training after the championship.

Only after a half year, Ishimatsu won the championship from a Mexican boxer who had been the champion.

Ishimatsu, then, retired from boxing, and went into show business world, which had been his long time dream.

Ishimatsu’s word,

“When I just started, people around me harshly pointed ‘a former boxer can’t act.’ That is why, I read a script over and over to memorize my lines, and didn’t complain to any roles I could get.”

What was impressive in his story was his way of life that he does his best anytime whether it is boxing or show business, and every time he was cornered, he rises to his feet.

The NIKKEI  Nov/13/2009  by Guts Ishimatsu (former boxer, actor)

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