Kintaro Usuda

Kintaro Usuda started with sumo wrestling while attending Colonial Trading School. In 1923 he joined the Nippon Kento Club (Nikko). After enrolling in Meiji University he became the first Japanese lightweight champion in 1924, winning the fight by TKO. Two years later, he defended his title. Together with Yoshimitsu Kage, he founded the Meiji University Fist Club, the first at a university in Japan. In 1928, Usuda won the welterweight division at the All-Japan Amateur Boxing Championships. In Amsterdam he won his first two matches but lost in the third round against eventual bronze medalist Ray Smillie from Canada.

After the Olympics Usuda, who was a southpaw, started a professional career in the US. In 1930 he returned to Japan and continued to fight mostly against American and Filipino boxers. In 1933 a defeat changed to a draw earned him the joint professional welterweight title. His last major encounter was in 1933 against French boxer Aime Raphael. Of his 38 professional fights he won 23 and lost 8 with 7 draws. He was married to the sister of a stock exchange tycoon of Korean descent.