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TOKYO, Japan,-Oct 16: The Japan Amateur Boxing Federation said Tuesday it has approved a bid by former world champion Katsunari Takayama to obtain amateur status in order to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The 35-year-old Takayama retired from professional boxing in April last year and had filed for arbitration in a bid to overturn a decision by Japanese amateur boxing authorities preventing him from stepping into the amateur ring. According to the JABF, he is the first active boxer with professional experience to return to the amateur ranks. "I'll stay strong and work hard because the real battle starts from here," Takayama said. A five-time minimumweight world champion, Takayama is also the first Japanese fighter to have been crowned champion in four major international organizations -- WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF. The International Boxing Association voted to allow professional boxers to compete at the Olympics starting in Rio in 2016, but until now the JABF has not allowed any with professional experience to compete among amateurs. But former JABF President Akira Yamane, who opposed mixing pros and amateurs, stepped down in August over allegations of misconduct, leading to an organizational reshuffle.