Hiroki Kurosawa

HIROKI KUROSAWA STARTED HIS FIGHT CAREER BY WINNING THE JAPANESE KARATE CUP IN 1984, ALMOST REPEATING THAT ACHIEVEMENT THE FOLLOWING YEAR WHEN HE INDEED REACHED THE FINAL. IN 1987 HE AGAIN REACHED THE FINALS AND SOON AFTER ENTERED HIS FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DURING WHICH HE WAS PAIRED WITH FELLOW KARATE LEGEND PETER SMIT FROM HOLLAND. THEIR FIGHT IS STILL OFTEN REFERRRED TO AS ONE OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES OF KARATE FIGHTING FROM THE MODERN ERA, HIROKI WON THE BATTLE AFTER THREE EXTENSION ROUNDS BUT WAS UNABLE TO CONTINUE DUE TO INJURY. IN 1997 HE WAS APPROACHED BY A NEW FIGHTING PROMOTION THAT WERE INTERESTED IN USING HIS POPULARITY TO PROMOTE THEIR FIRST SHOW, THAT SHOW WAS PRIDE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP AND HIROKI FOUGHT A KARATE RULES BOUT AGAINST IGOR MEINDERT, SEVERLEY INJURING HIS KNEE DURING THE BOUT. HE RETURNED FOR PRIDE 6 HOWEVER TO DEFEAT ANOTHER WELL KNOWN KARATEKA NOBUAKI KAKUDA. IN EARLY 2000, HIROKI MADE HIS KICKBOXING DEBUT AT K-1 RISING, SCORING A 56 SECOND KNOCKOUT VICTORY AGAINST AN AMERICAN OPPONENT. AFTER ANOTHER 7 FIGHTS UNDER THE K-1 BANNER, HE FOUGHT IVAN SALAVERRY TO A DRAW IN WHAT WOULD BE HIS LAST FIGHT. IN 2016 HE HAD SURGERY ON HIS KNEE BUT DEVELOPED HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART COMPLICATIONS AFTER THE OPERATION, ISSUES THAT HE NEVER FULLY RECOVERED FROM. IN MARCH 2017, HIROKI KUROSAWA DIED FROM ACUTE HEART FAILURE AT ONLY 54 YEARS OLD. HIS LEGACY IS EVER PRESENT, AND HE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED FOR HAVING AN EXTREMELY DESTRUCTIVE AND RELENTLESS KARATE TECHNIQUE, AIMING TO PUSH FORWARD AND CAUSE AS MUCH DAMAGE AS POSSIBLE POSING A TOUGH TEST FOR ANYONE HE FACED ON THE MAT OR IN THE RING.