Takao Sakurai
Born in Sawara, Chiba, Sakurai began boxing in high school, keeping his training secret to his parents.In the final versus Chung Shin-Cho of South Korea, he knocked down his opponent three times in less than two rounds.Sakurai founded his own boxing gym One Two Sports Club, in Tsukiji, Chūō, Tokyo, and worked as a trainer there.[4] His eldest son has also had a successful amateur boxing career, winning a national tournament in the featherweight division.Sakurai died of esophageal cancer in Tokyo at dawn on January 10, 2012,[2] the birthday of Hitoshi Misako.