“I was laughed at for my colour,” recalled Japanese-Ghanaian Sewonrets Okazawa when discussing his upbringing and the adversity that came with being a rare Japanese schoolboy of African heritage.
Rather than allowing the prejudice he experienced to define him, Okazawa learned to embrace the visibility that came with standing out. “My skin colour attracted attention,” he explained. “This made me happy. I like being the centre of attention.”
Perhaps, that familiarity of being over-analysed and constantly under the microscope as a youth has served Okazawa well in his boxing career, as opponents attempt to dissect his awkward style and develop plans to overcome it. Nevertheless, it is additional attention that Okazawa continues to yearn for, keen to bring more Japanese eyes to the amateur version of the sport by medalling at the Los Angeles 28 Olympic Games in two years’ time.
Who is Sewonrets Okazawa?
The Olympics has always been the target for the Yamagata-born southpaw, who originally aspired to represent Japan as a wrestler until an intimidating boxer approached him at his school and asked him to join the local boxing club. Without hesitation, more due to fear than excitement, Okazawa nodded his head in agreement and never looked back.
From that point onwards, he has grown to love the sport – or ‘art’ as he calls it – inspired by Cuban standouts such as Guillermo Rigondeaux and Lazaro Alvarez, taking influence from their fights whilst simultaneously building a reputation of his own.
Olympic experience and international glory
Okazawa picked up the silver medal of the 2019 Asian Championships in Bangkok before achieving his dream of competing at the Olympics and doing so on home soil at Tokyo 2020, only to be eliminated in the second round of the welterweight (63-69kg) tournament. However, the now 30-year-old bounced back and claimed two high-profile tournament victories, including the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou to re-emerge as a threat to the Olympic podium.
Despite those feats, at Paris 2024, Okazawa was left wanting again, eliminated in the second round once more, this time as a light-middleweight (71kg).
Still, his goal is clear and his will is as infectious as ever as LA28 and a third consecutive Olympic Games loom. In an interview with World Boxing, Okazawa, who trains alongside pound-for-pound Japanese professional boxing star Naoya Inoue at Kanoya Gym in Kagoshima, explained that his burning desire to claim gold in the United States also serves a wider purpose.
“I am obsessed with amateur boxing, I love this sport. I want to make amateur boxing a more popular sport in Japan, that is why I appear on such a variety of shows. My greatest achievement was the World Championship gold, it was the biggest title for me but I felt sad after it.
“I thought winning a gold medal at the World Championships [in 2021] would bring about a major change, but the public simply wasn’t interested. The reaction back home was even greater for the Asian Games victory than for that [World Championship win].
“Yet, the event that had an even bigger impact, despite the loss, was the Paris Olympics. Witnessing the influence of Olympic-related competitions, I vowed to win an Olympic gold medal and become the face of the sport, not just for me but for all Japanese amateur boxers.
“If I can take gold in Los Angeles, I can be a star in Japan, I am sure of that. It’s not something that I want, it is something that I need.”
Since his Paris 2024 elimination, Okazawa has responded well, finishing as the runner-up to the highly rated Odel Kamara (ENG) at the World Boxing Cup Finals Sheffield 2024 before adding another silver medal, from the World Boxing Championships Liverpool 2025, to his growing list of accolades – trumped only by Torekhan Sabyrkhan (KAZ) in a razor-tight final.
These experiences, alongside Okazawa’s mentality and the company in which he surrounds himself with at Kanoya make him one to watch during the run-up to Los Angeles, where he hopes his long-standing thirst for Olympic glory may finally be quenched.
Tom Eaton for World Boxing