ASIA / PACIFIC
Page 4 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
July 20, 2015
Gushiken at last happy as boxer
after Hall of Fame induction
By Yuri Kageyama
The Associated Press
OKYO — It was a long fight for Yoko Gushiken to
find life after boxing. Or rather, to find his life was
all about boxing after all.
It took his induction in June into the International
Boxing Hall of Fame — an honor only two other Japanese
have received — to allow him to reconcile with who he
truly is.
Three decades after retiring from the ring — often
feeling lost and depressed — and after a secondary career
as a television comedian, the former World Boxing
Association (WBA) light flyweight champion now accepts
his status as a boxing great.
“I saw how splendid boxing was in this world,” said the
60-year-old Gushiken, often clenching his fists to
emphasize his points.
He appeared a little embarrassed when asked about his
television appearances, particularly on quiz shows, in
which he portrays a disarming error-prone character, a
gimmick designed to draw laughter from the audience.
Many younger Japanese know him only as a television
personality, oblivious to Gushiken’s boxing legacy: He
defended his belt 13 times, still a record for a Japanese
fighter.
He never had it easy, from the beginning.
He grew up on Okinawa, the southern islands occupied
by the U.S. after World War II until 1972. When he
travelled to high school tournaments on the main islands,
he had to bring a passport. But pride in his Okinawan
roots and his determination to fight for his people drove
him.
He grew up in the city of Ishigaki, one of the farthest
islands, where “we didn’t have anything” — no cars, no
clothes, no food, he said.
“We would get sneakers, maybe once a year. That was
it,” Gushiken said in an interview at his gym, dotted with
colorful gloves, dangling sandbags, and a poster of Oscar
De La Hoya.
A fledgling boxer was wrapping his tiny hands by a
humble ring.
For years, the island had television reception only for
the single public broadcaster. His hometown couldn’t even
watch his fights.
Even after turning professional, he was so short on
money he worked at a pork-cutlet restaurant while he
defended his title five times. Gushiken is still grateful to
the restaurant owner for giving him that job.
Shinkichi Kinjo, 70, Gushiken’s high school boxing
coach, said he knew right away from the fiery way
Gushiken looked at him that he was special. But he had
hopes for sending him to college and maybe the Olympics,
and was disappointed when Gushiken turned pro, without
going to college.
“But he told me he would make up for it by becoming a
champion,” Kinjo said proudly, in a telephone interview
from Okinawa.
Gushiken reigned as champion for nearly five years,
recording eight knockouts, until he was defeated in a 1981
bout, sadly, on Okinawa, where he remains a hero.
“Gushiken was a pressure fighter,” said Ted Sares, a
boxing fan and writer, who long pushed for Gushiken’s
induction into the Hall of Fame, insisting Asian fighters
were under-represented. “By employing constant
pressure, he forced opponents into mistakes.”
Back then, title fights went for 15 rounds, although
fortunately he knocked out almost every opponent, and
rarely had to go the distance. The refs didn’t stop fights
quickly, and he fought four times a year.
Younger
boxers
have
technique,
Gushiken
acknowledged, but many lack what’s most important in
the making of a champion.
“They aren’t hungry,” he said in his soft voice. “It’s all
about what’s in your heart.”
China gay couple
holds informal marriage
to push for union
By Didi Tang
The Associated Press
EIJING — A prominent Chinese lesbian couple
held a simple ceremony recently to announce
their informal marriage, in their latest effort to
push for the legalization of same-sex unions in China.
The union of Li Tingting and Teresa Xu came six days
after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to validate same-sex
marriages in the United States, and four months after Li
was detained in China for her women’s-rights activism.
China does not legally permit same-sex marriage, and
there is no broad social effort to push for its legalization.
“I do,” Li said in English, as friends cheered. “So do I,”
replied Xu, also in English.
They exchanged vows and put on silver rings serving as
wedding bands in front of about 20 friends and an equal
number of journalists gathered at a restaurant in a
suburb of Beijing decorated with balloons, rainbow flags,
and their photos.
“We want to take some action to advocate for same-sex
marriage,” Li said earlier in a salon, while Xu was having
her hair styled. “It’s doing the impossible when you know
it’s impossible, but it takes those constant efforts to make
changes in history.”
Li was detained in early March with four others amid
China’s crackdown on social activism. They were taken
into police custody in a criminal investigation over their
plans to hand out stickers and flyers denouncing sexual
harassment. Foreign governments, rights groups, and
Hillary Clinton, who is running for U.S. president,
criticized their detention. The five were released 37 days
later, although they remain criminal suspects.
The experience prompted Xu to consider a stronger
bond with Li. “I love her, and after her detention I wanted
to be closer to her, but not merely as her girlfriend,” Xu
said. “I love her courage and her sense of justice.”
The U.S. Supreme Court decision inspired them to seek
their own version of a same-sex marriage, Li said.
“That’s a U.S. law. What use does it have in China?” Li
said. “We think we should do something ourselves.”
Within days, the couple picked up wedding gowns,
scheduled salon sessions for their hair and makeup, and
reserved the banquet room.
The couple had initially considered showing up at the
local civil affairs office to apply for a marriage license, but
stopped the plan so as not to upset the authorities.
“They could detain me on the charge of assembling
illegally or provoking trouble to disrupt social order,” Li
said.
Li said state security officials had contacted her to
inquire about the ceremony, and that she was worried
about the possibility of being detained again.
“We are a bit nervous and excited that our wedding
should get this much attention,” she said at the ceremony.
B
(AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)
SEEKING EQUALITY. Teresa Xu, left, and Li Tingting, right, share
a moment outside of a beauty salon where the two prepared for their
wedding in Beijing in early July. The Chinese couple held a simple cere-
mony to announce their informal marriage, in their latest effort to push for
legalization of same-sex unions in China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
(Kyodo News via AP, File)
T
LEGENDARY STATUS. Japanese boxer Yoko Gushiken (top photo,
center) celebrates after defeating champion Juan Jose Guzman of the Do-
minican Republic by a technical knockout in their World Boxing Associa-
tion (WBA) light flyweight title match in Tokyo in this October 10, 1976 file
photo. Gushiken was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame
on June 14, 2015 (bottom photo). Three decades after retiring from the
ring — often feeling lost and depressed — and after a secondary career
as a television comedian, the former WBA light flyweight champion now
accepts his status as a legend in the sport.
A slight but sprightly man who sports curly hair,
Gushiken made it clear he works as a tarento, or “talent,”
as Japanese call actors and comics, to spread the word
about boxing.
He also needs the television appearances to raise funds
for his Tokyo boxing gym, which he has run for 20 years, to
get his boxers fights that may lead to his dream to produce
a world champion.
But Gushiken did little to draw attention to his Hall of
Fame induction in Canastota, New York on June 14,
including from the Japanese television shows he
frequents. He went quietly, flying at his own expense,
booking his own hotel.
And so he was stunned when he was thronged by
American fans, who somehow found out where he was
staying, and were waiting in the lobby to get his
autograph — not on pieces of paper, but on boxing gloves,
his photos, and even a pamphlet from one of his fights.
When he went on a victory parade down the streets, he
heard someone yell, “Yoko,” he recalled, tears brimming a
little.
“I connected with all the boxing champions from around
the world,” he said of the four-day festivities. “We became
one.”
He dined at a table with two of his biggest heroes, Ruben
Olivares and Pipino Cuevas. He was impressed by the fun
personality of fellow inductee Riddick Bowe.
And he wasn’t a bit nervous when he made his speech,
saying in English: “I will never forget this wonderful day.”
It was so much fun, he would move to the U.S. this
minute, if only he could speak English a little better.
“All my suffering in my boxing life, all of it, suddenly
turned into joy,” Gushiken said, as though still in a dream.
“It was all good.”
Three Indonesian airports close due to eruptions at two volcanoes
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Eruptions
at two volcanoes caused closures at three
Indonesian airports, including one serving
the country’s second-largest city.
Mount Raung on the main island of Java
blasted ash and debris up to 6,560 feet into
the air after rumbling for several weeks,
and Gamalama mountain in eastern
Indonesia erupted after months of quiet.
Transport ministry spokesman Julius
Adravida Barata said volcanic ash
spewing from Raung blew close to the
cities of Surabaya and Malang, forcing
Juanda International and Abdurrahman
Saleh airports to close.
Surabaya, the provincial capital of East
Java, is Indonesia’s second-largest city
after the capital Jakarta.
The ministry said Sultan Babullah air-
port in Ternate, North Maluku’s province
capital, was closed after Gamalama sent
volcanic ash as high as 4,920 feet.
The shutdown came at the peak of the
annual exodus of millions of people to their
hometowns in the world’s most populous
Muslim nation, coinciding with the
celebration of the end of the holy fasting
month of Ramadan.
An earlier eruption of Raung sparked
chaos as Ngurah Rai airport in the tourist
hotspot of Bali and four other airports in
the region were shut down, stranding
thousands of holiday-goers.
Two domestic airports in the East Java
towns of Banyuwangi and Jember were
also closed.
Volcanic ash is hazardous to jet engines
and able to harm other parts of the air-
craft.
A
2010
eruption
of
Iceland’s
Eyjafjallajokul volcano produced an ash
cloud that caused a week of international
aviation chaos, with more than 100,000
flights cancelled.