Yoshihiro Kamegai Announces His Retirement From Boxing

Former world title challenger Yoshihiro Kamegai has officially announced his retirement from the sport of boxing.

The 35-year-old Japanese fighter made his retirement on Instagram, admitting that his body is not able to throw as many hard punches as he did in his prime. Kamegai cited his last two fights, against Greg Vendetti and Miguel Cotto, as examples of his body not being as strong and steady as it was in his prime. 

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引退します！応援有り難う御座いました！ ・ ・ I’ll be retiring from boxing. My last 2 bouts, I’ve been losing power in my arms in the early rounds. Unlike before when I could throw more power punches throughout the whole fight, now I can’t. Back when I fought #GuerreroKamegai and #KamegaiSotoKarass2 , those were the fights when my performance was at best but the last 2 was far from it. I didn’t feel like I was in my body. But still I was more humbled and appreciative than ever to see the fans all around the world crossing different countries to cheer me on! That was my PRIDE and MOTIVATION! To all the fans that supported me through out my boxing career my biggest appreciation goes out to all of you! Thank you very much!! @yoshihirokamegai_official ・ ・ #GoldenBoyPromotions #GoldenBoyBoxing #TeikenPromotions #Teiken #Kamegai #YoshihiroKamegai #CorazónDeAcero #CorazonDeAcero #HeartofSteel #boxing #JAPANboxing #USAboxing #OneWorld

A post shared by Yoshihiro Kamegai - 亀海 喜寛 (@yoshihirokamegai_official) on Nov 6, 2018 at 1:02am PST

Kamegai made his pro debut in 2005, winning his first 21 fights as well as the Japanese junior welterweight title in that span. Kamegai would also go on to win the OPBF welterweight title during his career.

Although Kamegai never got to win a world title during his career, he has been able to fight a number of world champions as well as produced entertaining fights. Kamegai has fought the likes of Jesus Soto Karass and Robert Guerrero. Kamegai got a chance to fight for the WBO junior middleweight title in 2017, but lost a unanimous decision to Cotto on an HBO card in California.