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Holy salkow, Batman, Miki’s back! Yes, Japan’s very own Babe on Ice, Miki Ando, roared back to form in the opening event of the Grand Prix figure skating series, not only winning October’s Skate America competition in Connecticut, but overshadowing younger teen star Mao Asada, everybody’s current tip for greatness. Ando, of course, was panned after finishing a disappointing 15th at the Turin Olympics, but she’s lost a bit of chunkiness and taken her skating to a higher level; maybe now she will start to fulfill her promise. Next up on the calendar is the NHK Trophy from November 30 to December 3 in Nagano. Japan’s women skaters are hot right now. Catch them while you can. FV See sports listings for details.
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By Fred Varcoe
Kawashima vs. Tokuyama—again
Two veteran super-flyweight champions renew their rivalry
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| Kawashima and (right)
Tokuyama |
Call it their summer date. For the third year in a row, super-flyweight
boxers Katsushige Kawashima and Masamori Tokuyama will square
off for the WBC super-flyweight title (July 18 at the Osaka
Municipal Gymnasium). This year, however, the circumstances
are very different.
In 2003, Tokuyama was defending his title for the eighth time
and danced around Kawashima for 12 rounds before winning unanimously
on points. So when he gave Kawashima another chance in 2004,
Tokuyama was confident of another stylish victory.
He didn’t make it to the two-minute mark. With just over
a minute and a half gone, Tokuyama suffered every boxer’s
nightmare: He left himself open and stepped into a Kawashima
right-hander that stopped him cold. Tokuyama took his defeat
philosophically—he hadn’t lost a boxing match, he’d
just blindly walked into a brick wall.
After taking a year off, Tokuyama is ready to meet his nemesis
again. The man born Hong Chang Su has enjoyed his time away,
riding a motorcycle, traveling abroad to train, and losing
the scrawny boxing body that he struggled to maintain at the
regulation 52kg. If you check out his website (www.chang-su.com),
you will see pictures of a man who enjoys his life, looking
fit, healthy and happy. Of course, he’s had to take the
weight off again, but Tokuyama has never been shy about training,
and his dancing, punch-and-run style has always needed prime
conditioning.
And he’ll need it against the man who took away his title.
Anyone who’s read The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The
Galaxy will recognize Kawashima as a Vogon, the thuggish alien
species whose only joy in life is destroying things with relentless
monotony and determination. You won’t find Kawashima
thinking his way through a fight. He’ll set his radar
on his opponent and move forward, arms flailing, for 12 rounds.
If he catches you like he caught Tokuyama, he’ll hurt
you. Kawashima’s face is always likely to be a mess at
the end of a fight—he views defense as the thing to put
around degarden.
Tokuyama’s main aim will be not to get in Kawashima’s
way. The man who fights under the “One Korea” banner
can actually take a punch, but not too many of them, and he’ll
have no chance if he gets clubbed again by one of Kawashima’s
haymakers. Tokuyama will be the underdog this time around,
and he’s had to lose quite a bit of weight (he hinted
that he would move up a division after his defeat), but he’s
also had plenty of time to get into condition. If his body
is as healthy as it looked during his year off, we could be
in for a surprise. Kawashima will endeavor to catch up with
Tokuyama over the 12 rounds and plant one on the former champ’s
chin.
On a sad note, there will be a shadow hanging over the ring
in Osaka. In a shock to the Japan boxing world, the country’s
super-flyweight champion, Seiji Tanaka, died on April 15 from
a brain hemorrhage suffered in his first title defense four
days earlier. The tragic death of Tokuyama’s friend at
the age of 28 was a terrible reminder of the dangers of boxing.
“Fear is ever-present in boxing,” he said. “Anyone
who says they have no fear is a liar.” Tokuyama, who
was a pallbearer at Tanaka’s funeral, will sew his name
into his shorts for the fight against Kawashima, and while
the fear will be there with him, so will the courage of his
fighting friend. The Katsushige Kawashima/Masamori Tokuyama
bout takes place July 18 at the Osaka Municipal Gymnasium
and will be broadcast on TV Tokyo. See sports listings for
details.
Would you like to comment on this article? Send a letter
to the editor at letters@metropolis.co.jp.
Discuss sports
with METROPOLIS readers at http://forum.japantoday.com
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