When people talk about rivalries (as defined by me, 3 or more fights between two boxers) , we always mention Robinson-La Motta, or Ali-Frazier, Ali-Norton, Gatti-Ward, Marquez-Vazquez, Barrera-Morales, Chacon-Limon, Leonard-Duran, Tunney-Greb, J.M. Marquez,-Pacquiao, Holyfield-Bowe, Carbajal-Gonzalez, maybe Griffith-Rodriguez and maybe also, Charles-Moore and Chavez-Randall. Yet we forget a mini (pun intended) rivalry that took place during the early 1980's that was very controversial, in the Junior Flyweight division. Im talking about Madera-Tokashiki. They had 4 fights, three of which were mired in controversy, all within a year and a half. They didn't even have to wait 4 years to complete their rivalry like Ali and Frazier or 9 years like Leonard and Duran. They had four fights in about a year and a half! Fight One was April 4th, 1982, Tokashiki won by a close, split decision. Newspapers across Latin America and the WBA thought the Mexican Madera got robbed so they ordered a rematch. The rematch, fight Two, took place almost exactly one year later, on April 10th, 1983 and Tokashiki retained the title by a fifteen-rounds draw. Again, voices were heard all over the world to the point that I, all of ten years old, knew who they were after fight Two, living in Puerto Rico. Everyone said Madera again got robbed and the WBA again agreed, so they made fight Three. Fight Three took place three months later, July 10th, and Madera finally got it right, becoming WBA world Junior Flyweight champion. But boy was it again controversial! Madera was cut in his forehead by a Tokashiki headbutt, and Tokashiki was declared the winner by technical knockout initially. There was some shoving and shouting in the ring and Madera's cornermen somehow convinced WBA officials to look at the scorecards instead. When they did and realized Madera was winning on points, they gave Madera the world championship, and a scene reminiscent of Hagler-Minter in London took place, Japanese fans (who are normally known for their placidness and for being respectful and good sports people) went bananas and started a riot, throwing everything they could find at everyone in the ring. Chairs and bottles and everything. Luckily, no one was injured. Fight Four holds a special place in my heart. I haven't seen it, but before the three other fights, I only had a brother and you know me being an eleven year young lady, I yearned to have a sister, someone I could relate to someday. I was elated and ecstatic when my brother was born in 1979, but for my mother's 1983 pregnancy, I wanted a sister very badly. As it turns out my sister was born October 19th of 1983, and Fight Four between these two was held on October 23rd, four days after her birth. It was the first world title fight to take place after me and my sister first saw each other. Madera took another very close, but this time unanimous, decision after fifteen rounds, closing the chapter on one of the greatest Junior Flyweight rivalries of all time. Perhaps it wasn't Chionoi-Torres action-wise, but it was controversial enough and good enough to be remembered! All of their fights took place in Tokashiki's Japan. Madera later died of an unspecified disease in Southern Mexico in 2005, while Tokashiki parlayed his fame into becoming a popular and solid actor in Japan, making films and television shows. How about that? As the Footloose song said, "Let's give it to the boys!"
Thanks Richard! Ah, those were the days, when after seeing my sister for the first time, I ran to the food corner and bought a Diet Pepsi and a Doritos ..then saw the three final rounds of Curry-Haley 2 at home! Madera-Tokashiki 4 was the first fight with my sister born because Curry-Haley two was being shown tape-delayed in Puerto Rico..it was a Wednesday Night and Puerto Ricans could not miss our 10 PM newscast when that contest took place at 7PM Las Vegas time, and my sister was born about 11 PM lol about 15 minutes after Curry-Haley II had finished in Vegas... What I would give to be 10 or 11 again!
