The head of Japan’s boxing commission says the sport could cease to exist in the country if radical changes aren’t implemented, following the deaths of two fighters.

Earlier this month, super featherweight Shigetoshi Kotari and lightweight Hiromasa Urakawa, both 28, died following brain surgery after fighting on the same card at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.

The deaths sparked an investigation by authorities, with a raft of changes to be implemented in September to prevent further tragedies.

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They include sterner rules on rapid weight loss before fights and urine tests to assess dehydration.

According to the World Boxing Association, dehydration caused by cutting weight quickly can make the brain more prone to bleeding.

“If we don’t improve things, this sport won’t be able to continue. If the people involved in the sport can’t improve things, we will have to quit,” Japan Boxing Commission secretary-general Tsuyoshi Yasukochi told AFP.

Shigetoshi Kotari. Instagram

“I understand that we are at a crucial moment where a sport that has been around for 100 years could potentially disappear.

“I think everyone is working every day with that mindset.”

Boxing in Japan has had to deal with its fair share of tragedy in the ring recently.

Last week, an amateur boxer had reportedly still not regained consciousness two weeks after undergoing emergency brain surgery after a sparring session.

In May, boxer Ginjiro Shigeoka collapsed after a fight in Osaka and underwent brain surgery. He remains in a coma but is no longer in a life-threatening condition.

The deaths of Kotari and Urakawa followed the tragic passing of another Japanese fighter, Kazuki Anaguchi, who died following a bout in Tokyo in 2023.

“When a person dies it’s something that has a big impact,” Yasukochi added, stating the sport was at a “crossroads”.

“If you don’t feel that, then you’re not qualified to be involved in boxing,” he said.

“Some people might say that this is a sport where such accidents can happen, but we can’t afford to think that way.

“These things keep happening and we can’t brush them off as coincidences. We need to investigate the causes and manage the aftermath.”