Yudai Shigeoka has announced his retirement from boxing to focus on his younger brother, Ginjiro, who continues to recover from a brain bleed suffered in May during his IBF minimumweight title rematch with Pedro Taduran in Osaka. In a social post, Yudai said Ginjiro has been transferred to a hospital in Kumamoto and is undergoing three types of rehabilitation for three hours daily. Earlier updates noted he was breathing without a respirator and could mumble responses—small but meaningful steps after emergency surgery and a coma.
The news arrives amid renewed scrutiny of fighter safety in Japan following the August 2 Korakuen Hall tragedies that claimed the lives of Shigetoshi Kotari and Hiromasa Urakawa. Against that sombre backdrop, Yudai’s message was one of gratitude and resolve, thanking medical staff in Osaka for saving Ginjiro’s life and vowing to be by his side: “I encourage him every day… so that flame in his heart does not go out.”
Watch Yerusalem vs. Shigeoka highlights: Watch
Both brothers reached rare heights together: in April 2023 they captured interim titles on the same show, then in October 2023 they won full versions - Yudai outpointing Panya Pradabsri for the WBC 105lbs belt and Ginjiro stopping Daniel Valladares to claim the IBF title. Yudai later lost his crown to Melvin Jerusalem on March 31 in Nagoya, rebounded against Samuel Salva, but fell to Jerusalem again on March 30 in Tokoname. Ginjiro lost his IBF belt to Taduran on July 28 in Otsu before the ill-fated May rematch.
Yudai says his new mission is to help his brother heal and to create “a place where people can say, ‘If you go here, you can meet Ginjiro!’” He closed by asking fans to continue following the Shigeoka brothers’ journey beyond the ring - steady effort, daily work, and persistence now aimed at recovery rather than titles.
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