Career
Onizuka was an extremely popular boxer in Japan, creating a boxing boom in Japan during the early 1990s along with Joichiro Tatsuyoshi. Onizuka began boxing in middle school, entering a local boxing gym to begin training. He entered the Kyoei boxing gym in Tokyo, and made his professional debut in 1988 as a flyweight.
His first world title match came in April, 1992, fighting Thanomsak Sithbaobay for the WBA Super Flyweight title, which had been vacated by legendary Thai boxer Khaosai Galaxy.
This fight was the height of Onizuka"s career. Two of the three judges of the fight were Japanese, and had both scored the bout in favor of Onizuka, making the fight one of the worst and most obvious cases of a hometown decision.
After his controversial fight, Onizuka fought Thanomsak Sithbaobay for the second time, and made his fourth defense by another close 12 round decision. He made a fifth successful defense by 12 round decision on April 10, 1994, despite having been knocked down for the first time in his professional career in the 5th round.
Onizuka finally lost in his sixth defense on September 18, 1994 against Hyung-Chul Lee, where he was trapped in the corner and beaten relentlessly for over a minute by the challenger.
The referee finally stopped the fight in the 9th round, and Onizuka lost his title after two years of controversial defenses. He was found to have a detached retina in the right eye after the fight, and announced his retirement. Onizuka explained that he had actually suspected an injury in his right eye over two years ago, but had kept it to himself to avoid being forced into retirement.
His record was 24-1-0 (17KOs).
Onizuka lived away from boxing for a while after retirement, but now trains young boxers at his boxing gym in his hometown, Fukuoka. He often appears on Turner Broadcasting System boxing broadcasts as a commentator.
Both Kameda and Onizuka were trained and managed by the Kyoei boxing gym, and Onizuka has appeared as a commentator in several of Kameda"s fights.
