The boxing gala was held at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall on August 2. Both super featherweight Shigetoshi Kotari and lightweight Hiromasa Urakawa, both 28 years old, were taken to hospital and underwent brain surgery.
Kotari drew against Yamato Hata but lost consciousness shortly afterwards and "died at 22.59 on August 8", writes his club M.T Boxing Gym: "He fought bravely through the operation and the treatment he received at a hospital in Tokyo due to acute subdural hematoma", it says.
Urakawa was stopped in the eighth round against Yoji Saito and "died tragically as a result of the injuries he sustained during his match", according to the World Boxing Organization (WBO). "This heartbreaking news comes just days after Shigetoshi Kotari's passing", writes WBO and expresses the organization's "deepest condolences to the families, friends and the Japanese boxing community".
According to the Secretary General of the Japan Boxing Commission, Tsuyoshi Yasukochi, it is likely the first time in Japan that two boxers have been forced to undergo open skull surgery after injuries at the same event.
