今からちょうど40年前の今日、23日前に世界戦で2度目の逆転KO劇を演じた 闘士、(高校生時代の Ernesto Mr. T にとり「英雄」であった) 大場政夫が あっけなく 交通事故で亡くなってしまいました。高速道路で自家用高級外車 シボレー・コルベットを運転中に 中央分離帯を乗り越え反対車線に出たところで大型トラックと正面衝突...トラックの下に車がめり込むほどの即死だったようです。大場はまだ23歳でした。
この偉大な現役世界王者の事故死に 若き Ernesto Mr. T は人生の不条理を思い知らされました。正に冬の一日でした。
Ohba Masao (大場 政夫, October 21, 1949 - January 25, 1973) was a professional boxer from Tokyo, Japan. He was the WBA flyweight champion at the time of his death.
Ohba's father was a compulsive gambler, so Ohba grew up in a very poor family. His father was an avid fan of professional boxing, and by the time Ohba was in elementary school, he was already dreaming of becoming a world champion, and bringing himself and his family out of poverty.
He completed middle school, and joined the Teiken Boxing Gym in 1965. However, Ohba weighed only about 48 kg and was barely 160 cm tall when he entered the gym, and the trainers doubted that he would be successful as a professional boxer. However, Ohba became a large flyweight by the time he made his debut, and actually had trouble losing weight to fit in the flyweight division later in his career.
Ohba made his professional debut in November, 1966, at the age of 17. He got his first world title shot on October 22, 1970, against Berkrerk Chartvanchai, who was the WBA flyweight champion. He won by TKO in the 13th round, becoming the 8th Japanese boxer to capture a world title.
Ohba made his first three defenses by 15 round decision, and his 4th defense by 5th round KO. He also fought four non-title matches in between his defenses, winning all of them as well.
On January 2, 1973, Ohba faced the veteran, Chartchai Chionoi, for his 5th defense. Ohba was knocked down with a right hook in the first round, and also injured his right ankle while falling to the canvas. Ohba managed to pick himself up, and his corner iced his ankle in between rounds, but Ohba limped as he exchanged punches with Chionoi.
Even with his injury, Ohba still managed to overpower Chionoi in the middle rounds, and finally knocked down the challenger in the 12th round. Chionoi was knocked down two more times in the round, and Ohba marked a dramatic 12th round KO win for his 5th defense.
On January 25, only three weeks after his latest defense, Ohba died in a car accident. He was driving his Chevrolet Corvette down an expressway in Tokyo, when he hit a truck coming down the opposite lane. He was only 23 years old, and was still in possession of the WBA title.
Ohba was dubbed "The Eternal Champion," because he died as a world champion, and was undefeated in world title bouts. He had been planning on returning his flyweight title to challenge the bantamweight title before his death. His professional record was 35-2-1 (16KOs).
40年経った今でも Ernesto Mr. T はいまだに 大場政夫の死が信じられません。
ご意見、ご質問等ございましたら、<ernestotaju@yahoo.co.jp> へ。
