Yuki Beppu, "The Tyson of Kyushu", retires
Yesterday the JBC announced that former WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight champion Yuki Beppu (21-3-1, 20) [別府優樹] had filed a retirement notice, dated May 31st, ending his career after 25 fights and a lot of explosive and exciting action.
The 31 year old Beppu, dubbed the "Tyson of Kyushu", made his professional debut in 2012, and really came to the attention of Japanese fight fans in 2014 when he won the All Japan Rookie of the Year, beating Hironobu Matsunaga in the final. That win saw Beppu move to 8-0 (8) and his destructive run would continue until 2017, by which point he was 14-0 (14). His KO run finally came to an end in a major step up, when he took on Charles Bellamy and the two men fought to a draw, in what was a bout that showed Beppu was a legitimate fighter and not just a can crusher.
After running his record to 18-0-1 (18) Beppu would again step up, and would face Yuki Nagano in a Japanese title eliminator. Sadly for Beppu he would suffer a close decision loss to Nagano, losing his unbeaten record in the process. Despite that loss he bounced back and won his next 3, including his career defining 2019 win over Ryota Yada for the WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight title, in a bout that saw Yada being dropped 5 times, but eventually stopping Yada in 10 rounds in a Comeback of the Year performance. Sadly following that bout Beppu would never score another win.
The win over Yada was followed by almost 18 months out of the ring, before he returned in 2021 and faced Ryota Toyoshima in a bout to unify the WBO Asia Pacific and OPBF titles, with Toyoshima stopping Beppu in the 10th round. Beppu would return to the ring 4 months later and look like a broken fighter before being stopped in 5 rounds by old foe Yuki Nagano, in what would be his final bout.
We want to wish Beppu all the best in his post-boxing life.
The 31 year old Beppu, dubbed the "Tyson of Kyushu", made his professional debut in 2012, and really came to the attention of Japanese fight fans in 2014 when he won the All Japan Rookie of the Year, beating Hironobu Matsunaga in the final. That win saw Beppu move to 8-0 (8) and his destructive run would continue until 2017, by which point he was 14-0 (14). His KO run finally came to an end in a major step up, when he took on Charles Bellamy and the two men fought to a draw, in what was a bout that showed Beppu was a legitimate fighter and not just a can crusher.
After running his record to 18-0-1 (18) Beppu would again step up, and would face Yuki Nagano in a Japanese title eliminator. Sadly for Beppu he would suffer a close decision loss to Nagano, losing his unbeaten record in the process. Despite that loss he bounced back and won his next 3, including his career defining 2019 win over Ryota Yada for the WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight title, in a bout that saw Yada being dropped 5 times, but eventually stopping Yada in 10 rounds in a Comeback of the Year performance. Sadly following that bout Beppu would never score another win.
The win over Yada was followed by almost 18 months out of the ring, before he returned in 2021 and faced Ryota Toyoshima in a bout to unify the WBO Asia Pacific and OPBF titles, with Toyoshima stopping Beppu in the 10th round. Beppu would return to the ring 4 months later and look like a broken fighter before being stopped in 5 rounds by old foe Yuki Nagano, in what would be his final bout.
We want to wish Beppu all the best in his post-boxing life.