Who am I?

[ironfist05]

I thought maybe Naseem Hamed. But he had no citizenship issues.

Nope

 

[ironfist05]

for those wondering, it was Masamori Tokuyama (Tokuyama is a Zainichi Korean; ethnic Koreans that live in Japan as "permanent residents," they are not granted full citizenship even though they're born in Japan and live life the same way Japanese citizens do etc...). He'd walk out with the North Korean flag, as his Korean ancestry is from North Korea and IIRC he made several statements praising Kim Jong-Il.

 

[Seano]

for those wondering, it was Masamori Tokuyama (Tokuyama is a Zainichi Korean; ethnic Koreans that live in Japan as "permanent residents," they are not granted full citizenship even though they're born in Japan and live life the same way Japanese citizens do etc...). He'd walk out with the North Korean flag, as his Korean ancestry is from North Korea and IIRC he made several statements praising Kim Jong-Il.

I never would have got that. Asian boxing history is one area I'm lacking.

 

[ironfist05]

I never would have got that. Asian boxing history is one area I'm lacking.

Tokuyama isn't super famous in the west, but he really was an incredible fighter to watch at his peak (though you might not love him, he fought a bit like Lara does, though probably more exciting). The citizenship stuff was maybe a little unfair, since that requires knowledge of hte situation of Zainichi Koreans to begin with.

https://www.asianboxing.info/
this website is great for following hte sport, and they do some historical stuff too.