Katsuo Tokashiki
渡嘉敷 勝男
Born (1960-07-27) July 27, 1960
NationalityJapanese
Other namesYanbarukuina
Statistics
Weight(s)Light flyweight
Height5 ft 2 in (157 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights25
Wins19
Wins by KO4
Losses4
Draws2

Katsuo Tokashiki (渡嘉敷 勝男, born July 27, 1960, in Okinawa, Japan) is a Japanese former WBA Light flyweight champion. He currently works as an actor and television persona, and runs his own boxing gym in Tokyo, Japan.

Childhood & Early career

Tokashiki was born in Okinawa, but was raised in Takarazuka, Hyogo. He caused all sorts of trouble from an early age, and was infamous in his local town by the time he reached high school. He dropped out of school to begin training as a professional boxer, and traveled to Tokyo, where he entered the Kyoei boxing gym. The WBA Light flyweight champion Yoko Gushiken also trained at the Kyoei gym during the same period. Tokashiki made his professional debut in December, 1978.

Professional career

Tokashiki was a short (even for a light flyweight) and quick fighter, and quickly emerged as one of Japan's best youngest boxers. He did not mark a KO victory until his 12th professional fight in 1980.

Tokashiki compiled a record of 13-1-1 (2KOs) before challenging Hwan Jin Kim for the WBA Light flyweight title in December, 1981. Yoko Gushiken had lost the WBA title to Pedro Flores, after defending it 13 times. Flores in turn lost his title to Kim and Tokashiki set out to avenge his gymmate's Gushiken's loss of his title. Tokashiki won the world title with by unanimous decision, but a scandal involving the Kyoei gym's management was revealed the same day, and Tokashiki's victory was marred by controversy, since he and the previous champion, Gushiken, both trained with the gym.

Regardless, Tokashiki compiled 5 straight defenses, but lost his title to Lupe Madera, (who he had fought two previous times in defenses) after he was injured in the 4th round.[1] Tokashiki got a rematch in October, 1983, but lost a close unanimous decision in 15 rounds. The WBA would have allowed another rematch, but Tokashiki did not want to fight Madera for a fifth time, and decided to challenge Korean boxer Jung Koo Chang for the WBC Light flyweight title instead.

The match took place in Korea, where Chang was already a national hero. This was the only time Tokashiki fought outside Japan in his career, and he knew he had to win by KO to capture the title. Tokashiki was aggressive from the first round, and pinned the champion against the corner, when he was knocked down for the first time in his career with a counter left hook. However, Tokashiki managed to tire out the champion by the 5th round, and Chang showed fatigue, clinching repeatedly, and slipping in the 8th round. Chang's corner bought time by having to retape the champion's gloves twice during rounds, and in the 9th round, Chang surprised Tokashiki with a sudden flurry of punches. Tokashiki was staggered, and the referee immediately stopped the fight to declare Chang the victory, despite the fact that Tokashiki had remained standing as Chang collapsed to the canvas after hearing that he had won.[2] Chang was only 21 years old at the time, he defended the WBC title 15 times. Tokashiki announced his retirement shortly after this fight. His record was 19-4-2 (4KOs).

Professional boxing record

25 fights 19 wins 4 losses
By knockout 4 1
By decision 15 3
Draws 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
25 Loss 19–4–2 Chang Jung-koo TKO 9 (12) 1984-08-18 Pohang Gymnasium, Pohang, South Korea For WBC light flyweight title
24 Win 19–3–2 Takashi Sakakibara KO 6 (10) 1984-03-08 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
23 Loss 18–3–2 Lupe Madera UD 15 (15) 1983-10-23 Nakajima Sports Center, Sapporo, Japan For WBA light flyweight title
22 Loss 18–2–2 Lupe Madera TD 4 (15) 1983-07-10 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Lost WBA light flyweight title
21 Draw 18–1–2 Lupe Madera SD 15 (15) 1983-04-10 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBA light flyweight title
20 Win 18–1–1 Kim Hwan-jin UD 15 (15) 1983-01-09 Prefectural Gymnasium, Kyoto, Japan Retained WBA light flyweight title
19 Win 17–1–1 Sung Nam Kim UD 15 (15) 1982-10-10 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBA light flyweight title
18 Win 16–1–1 Masaharu Inami TKO 8 (15) 1982-07-07 Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan Retained WBA light flyweight title
17 Win 15–1–1 Lupe Madera SD 15 (15) 1982-04-04 Miyagi Sports Center, Sendai, Japan Retained WBA light flyweight title
16 Win 14–1–1 Kim Hwan-jin UD 15 (15) 1981-12-16 Miyagi Sports Center, Sendai, Japan Won WBA light flyweight title
15 Win 13–1–1 Toshihiro Okumoto KO 10 (10) 1981-10-19 Japan
14 Win 12–1–1 Yong Hyun Kim PTS 10 (10) 1981-06-02 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
13 Win 11–1–1 Toshihiro Okumoto PTS 10 (10) 1981-03-08 City Gymnasium, Gushikawa, Japan
12 Win 10–1–1 Phoenix Taniguchi KO 9 (10) 1980-11-12 Japan
11 Win 9–1–1 Manabu Irei UD 8 (8) 1980-08-30 Yamato, Japan
10 Loss 8–1–1 Jong Chul Park PTS 6 (6) 1980-06-14 Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, Japan
9 Win 8–0–1 Fujio Ito PTS 6 (6) 1980-02-21 Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan
8 Win 7–0–1 Masanobu Nakasone PTS 4 (4) 1979-12-23 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
7 Win 6–0–1 Naojiro Toda PTS 4 (4) 1979-11-12 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
6 Win 5–0–1 Junichi Ota PTS 4 (4) 1979-10-13 City Gymnasium, Aizuwakamatsu, Japan
5 Draw 4–0–1 Katsumi Sato PTS 4 (4) 1979-07-12 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
4 Win 4–0 Osamu Kiyohara PTS 4 (4) 1979-06-05 Hachinohe, Japan
3 Win 3–0 Susumu Kashiwaba PTS 4 (4) 1979-02-23 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
2 Win 2–0 Kiyoshi Kondo PTS 4 (4) 1979-01-26 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
1 Win 1–0 Nobuo Hamada PTS 4 (4) 1978-12-28 Japan

Post Retirement

Like many other Japanese boxers, Tokashiki became a television persona after retiring from boxing, and has appeared on several variety television shows. He has also worked as an actor, and took the role of boxer Fighting Harada in a television drama series in 1990. His appearances on television have decreased lately, but he created the Tokashiki Boxing Gym in Tokyo, and currently works as a trainer there. He also petitioned the court to order Iwao Hakamada's retrial.

See also

References

  1. "Lupe Madera of Mexico, declared unfit to fight after..." United Press International. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  2. "A ROUNDUP OF THE WEEK AUG. 13-19". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2023-12-30.

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