Sometimes the most talented people you will come across are also the most modest. Since moving to Las Vegas last year I have encountered various people from the sport of boxing and there seems to be an endless line of familiar faces that I recognize while covering a notable event in the area. Some are outspoken while others are subdued but everyone plays their part.
While at the open media workout for this weekend?s HBO triple header I approached photographer Naoki Fukuda, whose work can be seen at RingTV.com and other various media outlets. Fukuda has always had a low key attitude about him and is the type of person who says little about himself unless he is approached. Fukuda and I began to talk boxing and he revealed his early steps in the sport.
<--- Slideshow: Images from photographer Naoki Fukuda
?I was born in Japan,? Fukuda told me. ?I always loved boxing, since I was five or six years old. I was an amateur boxer. I wasn?t too strong, so I wanted to be a photographer so I began studying for that. I was a student at a University.?
Fukuda?s passions were obvious and despite his skills as a photographer flourishing he wasn?t quite in the position to capitalize on his talents. Wanting to get closer to the sport, Fukuda decided to make the move to Las Vegas and it is one that forever impacted his life and career.
?I worked for a Japanese Boxing Magazine but I wanted to shoot more fights,? he stated. ?This Japanese company had their own photography team so I couldn?t shoot. So I came here to shoot boxing in 2001. I came just for boxing.?
Over the years Fukuda has captured some graphic and telling images of some of the sport?s biggest stars, including Floyd Mayweather Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, and countless others. Fukuda is a simple man and he closed our conversation by getting straight to the point on why he loves his job so much.
?Las Vegas is where boxing is. Many good fighters come here to train and fight. I just love photographing and boxing.?
For a picture by picture look at Naoki Fukuda?s exclusive images please continue on to the slideshow on the left hand side of the page?
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at [email protected]
