User:Mschorn1/sandbox/Taro Minato

Yoshiharu Tashiro (田代 義治; September 21, 1971 – April 11, 2018), better known by his ring name Taro Minato (港太郎), was a Japanese kickboxer and mixed martial artist who fought professionally from 1991 to 1999 and from 2001 to 2006. After his initial retirement in 1999 until his death in 2018, he worked as a coach for the Yamaki Boxing Gym and his own Fuchū Muay Thai Club.

Over the course of his career, he became a national and world champion, and competed under kickboxing, Muay Thai, shoot boxing, sanshou, and MMA rule sets.

Early life
Minato was born on September 21, 1971 in Kanagawa Prefecture. As a junior high school student, he joined Satoru Sayama’s Super Tiger Gym and took part in amateur shooto competitions. After graduating high school, he studied Muay Thai in Thailand before transferring to the Yamaki Boxing Gym.

Kickboxing career
Making his professional kickboxing debut in May 1991, Minato established himself in the Martial Arts Japan Kickboxing Federation (MAJKF) and won the organization’s middleweight championship the following year. He soon developed a reputation for fighting major stars, beginning with a 1992 decision victory over karate champ Ryuji Murakami and hard-fought losses to Manson Gibson in the two years following. He made his K-1 debut at K-1 Legend by defeating Orlando Wiet. He drew with Muay Thai legend Nokweed Devy at the K-League Opening Fight event of 1995, then suffered a first-round knockout to Ramon Dekker later that year. In 1996, he became a world champion by knocking out Kevin Knicks for the UKF World Middleweight Championship.

Minato officially announced his retirement from kickboxing at a ceremony on December 24, 1999 but returned to the ring for at a final bout on June 10, 2006. At an event commemorating the 21st anniversary of the Yamaki Boxing Gym, he knocked out Optimus Yamashita in the third round. This set his final record at 35 wins with 18 KOs, 13 losses and 4 draws.

Mixed martial arts career
Following his initial retirement from kickboxing, Minato shifted to mixed martial arts competition. In his debut match on March 20, 2001, he was submitted by fellow kickboxing champ Naoyuki Taira. Over the following four years, Minato faced stern competition from fighters like Takafumi Ito, Satoru Kitaoka, Katsuya Inoue and Keita Nakamura. He retired in 2005 with a record of 0 wins and 6 losses.

Later career
Following his 1999 retirement, Minato became an instructor for his old training institution, the Yamaki Boxing Gym. He was with the school when it temporarily took on the name Alpha Boxing Gym in 2011, but departed to open his own establishment in November 2012 - the Fuchū Muay Thai Club.

Death
On April 4, 2018, Minato informed his students via Twitter that his gym would be closed due to his suffering a sudden illness. On April 6, he complained of lower back pain and visited a local hospital. On April 10, he announced on Twitter that the gym would remain closed and that he was having difficulty standing up. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance later that day, and died at 12:43 AM the following morning. The cause of death was reported as multiple organ failure.

The RISE martial arts promotion held a press conference the same day in Tokyo to inform the world of Minato’s passing. Fellow kickboxer and Yamaki Boxing Gym member Takashi Ito made the announcement, expressing his condolences for the loss of his colleague.

Fighting style
In a retrospective of his match against Ryuji Kurami, the website eFight described Minato as an “aggressive technician” who possessed strong punches and kicks, as well as mastery of Thai-style knees and elbows. In review of Minato's fight with Orlando Wiet, Mike Lorefice of Quebrada criticized Minato as “robotic” and “rigid” but praised his tactical prowess in utilizing elbows and strikes to the body. Following their first match in 1993, Manson Gibson praised Minato's powerful low kicks and declared him the toughest opponent he'd faced yet.

Titles

 * Universal Kickboxing Federation
 * 1996 UKF World Middleweight Champion
 * 1994 UKF International Middleweight Champion
 * Martial Arts Japan Kickboxing Federation
 * 1992 MAJKF Middleweight Champion