Weight loss of Rikiishi and Joe. How many kilos? and how long?
“Ashita no Joe" Rikiishi Toru’s weight loss is well known, but Joe Yabuki also concerned with the weight problem several years later.
In the comics, it was not clear how many kilos they have lost weight.
I try to calculate based on the information on their class and figures in the original comic about how many kilos Rikiishi and Joe’s weight loss were and how long they spent on it.
Contents
How many kilos was Toru Rikiishi’s weight loss
His lost weight changes depending on the starting point.
When he was in the juvenile training school, he was already a professional boxer.
According to the juvenile training school teacher, Rikiishi was in the welter.
The weight of each class at that time was as follows.
| weight (kg) | weight (Pounds) | |
| welter | 66.678kg or less | 147lb or less |
| light | 61.235kg or less | 135lb or less |
| feather | 57.153kg or less | 126lb or less |
| bantam | 53.524kg or less | 118lb or less |
After the discharge, Rikiishi realized his return to the prizefighter.
Joe watched his match on TV in the juvenile training school.
At that time, Rikiishi belonged to the featherweight.
About 1 year later, when Joe won to Wolf Kanagushi, he decided to fight against Joe and began that legendary weight loss.
In other words, Rikiishi enforced the weight control 2 times.
So, Rikiishi’s weight loss was
If we regard it as drop from welter to bantam
The welter-weight division is 61.236kg – 66.678kg.
Because it’s hard to play a game with a weight close to the lower limit, if his weight was close to the upper limit, it’s around 66kg.
At the pre-game weighing of Toru Rikiishi – Joe Yabuki Match, Rikiishi’s figure was 118pound (53.524kg).
66kg － 53.5kg = 12.5kg
If we regard it as drop from feather to bantam
Rikiishi’s weight of re-debut, when Joe watched it in the juvenile training school, was announced “125pound and a half."
It’s 56.926kg.
As mentioned his weight at the match against Joe was 53.5kg.
57kg － 53.5kg = 3.5kg
Rikiishi is originally welter-weight?
After the match, Joe vs. Wolf Kanagushi, reporters gathering in Tange Gym talked about Rikiishi’s weight loss.
“He has a physique easy to increase to welter-weight as soon as he is careless."
Perhaps he should have considerably had a hard time to stay in the feather.
It is proper to think that three classes of weight loss, from welter to bantam was Rikiishi’s weight control.
How long did Toru Rikiishi fight against his weight?
So how long was his weight loss?
Repeat,
Rikiishi began the 1st weight loss soon after his discharge.
It was Autumn when he discharged from the juvenile training school.
When did Joe watch his match on the school’s TV?
At that time, Nishi also was still there and he was released soon after it.
He was discharged from the training school about 2 or 3 months earlier than Joe.
Joe’s discharge was spring.
Thus, it can be guessed that Rikiishi’s re-debut was around winter.
His 1st weight loss, from the welter to the feather, from 66.5kg to 57kg, was done only in about 3 or 4 months.
After that, he challenged the weight of the class bantam.
It was after the match of Joe vs. Wolf Kanagushi in autumn.
(In the animation, the match was in winter, but this investigation is based on the original.)
The 2nd weight loss had been completed on a day of a match against Pancho Leo, Philippine.
When was the match?
I suppose it was in early winter.
Because Danpei said “It became really cold. It is winter now." on the way home from the match.
Rikiishi achieved his aim in about 2 months at most, the feather to the bantam, 57kg to 53.5kg.
And he kept his weight until the day of the match against Joe.
I think that the keeping was about a month.
Toru Rikiishi’s weight loss Summary
1st: about 6kg (the welter to the feather, 63kg to 57kg) for about 6 months
Keeping 57kg: for about 6 months
2nd: about 3.5kg (the feather to the bantam, 57kg to 53.5kg) for about 6 months
Keeping 53.5kg: for about a month
There was a secret story about Rikiishi’s weight loss.
How many kilos was Joe Yabuki’s weight loss
Joe struggled with the weight when he was twenty years old.
His growth period began late.
When his hand was close to the oriental title, Joe’s height grew rapidly, and the increasing weight was not suppressed in the abstinence.
It was approximately one month ago of the title match that Joe confided the problem to Danpei.
At that time, Joe said
“I weigh more than 60 kg if I’m not very careful."
Joe succeeded to cut down his weight to under 53.5kg, upper limits of the bantamweight class, just before the Orient title match.
If we regard it as drop 60kg to 53.5kg
60kg －53.5kg = 6.5kg
If we regard it as drop 57kg to 53.5kg
57kg －53.5kg = 3.5kg
According to Joe, 57kg was the figure as hard as possible in the secret diet.
So I think that it’s reasonable to set his start point was 60kg.
How long did Joe Yabuki fight against his weight?
Joe kept the weight problem secret for a while.
When was he conscious of his overweight?
I’ｍ not sure.
But at the party of TV Kanto, Joe’s sponsor, he didn’t eat or drink and Yoko Shiraki noticed that he was restricting his diet.
That party was held in winter and the title match against Kin was in winter, too.
Joe’s weight loss may have been quite long at the time of the secret, but I think that the period which weight loss was a big problem is about two months or three months.
The period of fasting or running with a swollen face was about one month.
(in the animation, it was three weeks)
Additional Information: How tall was Joe?
It’s unclear about the height of Joe in the original comics.
In the animation series, the definite figure was indicated by a journalist Suga.
Joe’s height and weight Suga said
Suga was the character only in the anime.
When Joe was suffering from his overweight secretly, he suddenly appeared in front of Joe and said,
“According to your official data, you are 164.5cm, 52.5kg. I can’t believe it. You look bigger."
Suga pointed out that Joe’s body has grown more than the data which updated one year ago.
Joe’s height and weight before the growth period were 164.5cm 52.5kg.
Those data were only in animation, but I think they are reasonable from his physique.
We can suppose Joe’s height before starting to worry about weight was 164.5 cm.
reference:
The figure of lifesize Joe created by Kodansya is 165cm.
(It’s all product sellouts, but the picture is still available here)
Kodansya is the publisher of “Ashita no Joe."
How tall was Joe at the time of weight loss?
We can estimate it from an episode in both the original and the animation.
Joe on a diet compared his height with the scratch on the slide of the park.
It was carved by the children one year ago to record their and Joe’s height.
Joe said,
“I grew by 6 centimeters in less than one year."
Ashita no Joe (15) P114 (c)TakamoriAsao ChibaTetsuya 2012
I don’t have the English version. I’m sorry.
The height of Joe before the rapid growth was 164.5cm.
164.5cm + 6cm = 170.5cm
Summary
Joe’s height before the overweight: 164.5cm
Joe’s height in the period of weight loss: 170.5cm
Joe’s height and weight on the match against Jose
After the Oriental-Pacific title match against Kim, Joe seems not to be bothered by weight.
Assuming that growth has stopped, his physique in the last game can be roughly estimated.
His weight was announced before the game.
“117 Pounds 1/4 Yabuki Joe."
117 Pounds 1/4 is about 53.18kg.
Joe on the day of becoming white ash was …
170.5cm
53.18kg
Ashita no Joe (20) P7 (c)TakamoriAsao ChibaTetsuya 2012
Yoko is around 165cm tall?
The World of Men
Rikiishi lost weight to fight against Joe.
Joe did it to stay bantam.
For Joe, it was the place that there was with Rikiishi.
Both win the games after their weight loss.
The life of Rikiishi ran out there, but, three years later, the weight loss of Rikiishi made Joe the Oriental Pacific champion.
Rikiishi said, “world of men."
Joe said, “I remain in an irreplaceable bantam throughout my life."
I’m sorry for my terrible English.
I have another blog only about Joe written in Japanese.
Every day, many people seeking information about Joe visit there from all over the world.
I know that the automatic translations from Japanese to other languages are inconvenient.
So I decided to write this blog.