Background
Tokuyama was born in Tokyo, Japan as a third generation Zainichi Korean.
徳山 昌守洪昌守
Tokuyama was born in Tokyo, Japan as a third generation Zainichi Korean.
He studied Korean language at Yonsei University in South of Korea in March, 2007.
His professional record was 32-3-1 (8 KOs). Because of his affiliation with North of Korea and his experience traveling to the country, he had been banned from entering South of Korea and the United States. However, he changed his nationality to South Korean in February, 2007.
He made his professional debut in 1994, and challenged the Japanese Flyweight Title twice in 1997, but was unsuccessful both times.
Tokuyama returned after a one-year lay-off to fight Kawashima on July 18, 2005. Tokuyama was knocked down in the last round, but dominated Kawashima for the rest of the fight, regaining his title by a 3-0 decision.
He relinquished his title after this fight and announced his intention to retire from boxing, but later announced that he would continue his career if he could fight Hozumi Hasegawa for the WBC Bantamweight title. Tokuyama finalized his retirement on March 14, 2007, since Hasegawa declined his challenge for the bantamweight title.
Tokuyama cited lack of motivation as the major reason for his retirement.
Zainichi Koreans either tried to conceal their roots by adopting Japanese names, or only used their real names to show that they were Korean. However, Tokuyama did neither, using both his Japanese name (Masamori Tokuyama) and real name (Chang-soo Hong), while declaring that he is a Zainichi Korean. Tokuyama visited North of Korea in 2001, and reportedly made a statement vowing allegiance to the leader of North of Korea, Kim Jong-il, thanking the leader for his success as a boxer.
In 2002, former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi made a visit to North of Korea, which revealed the kidnappings of several Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 80s by North of Korea.
News of the kidnappings received huge media coverage in Japan, and Tokuyama"s website was spammed relentlessly with abusive messages when it was rumored that Tokuyama commented: "They (the kidnapped Japanese citizens) might actually be living pretty happily in North of Korea."
He has often used the North Korean national anthem as his entrance theme.
He has often taken politics inside the ring, carrying a North Korean flag in his entrances and wearing trunks labeled "One of Korea." Many of Tokuyama"s fans regard his performances as the emergence of a new generation of Zainichi Koreans, who are not afraid of their heritage, while others negatively view Tokuyama as using sports to promote a political agenda.
He defended his WBC Super Flyweight title eight times before suffering a stunning 1st round knockout loss to Katsushige Kawashima in 2004. He defended his title on February 27, 2006, beating José Navarro by unanimous decision.