I was watching the Tokoro/Pequeno fight, and before the match they had footage of Tokoro waxing floors in janitor clothing.
It's kind of sad in a way that you have Tokoro koing the top guy in mma at 143 pounds yet he still works as a janitor.
No one knows who Tokoro is....?
Yes he was a janitor. I doubt he still is.
I hope he's not. But I have a lot of respect for him. Really Blue Collar.
Yeah, there was a whole media push for him being the working type. He has no shower in his aprtment, and washes out of a sink.
He is poor, by Japanese standards.
I bet his showerless apartment costs 1100 a month U.S.
He goes to the public baths every day to bathe/shower. He eats bento meals (equivalent to a TV dinner in the US) every day.
I'm sure he got a major pay increase after KOing Pequeno, though. I doubt he'll be poor much longer.
It's tragic that elite fighters like Tokoro can't make a living off fighting, but that's mma for you.
That more has to do with the standard of living in Japan. It's insanely expensive.
But in other news, he's a hell of a fighter. Doesn't always fight smart, but I've seen a ton of improvement since Taisho blew off his head in Zst.
"But in other news, he's a hell of a fighter. Doesn't always fight smart, but I've seen a ton of improvement since Taisho blew off his head in Zst. "
That was somewhat of an early stoppage.Tokoro got dropped but he was definately still capable of fighting.
Ryo Chonan is a construction worker. Thats what makes ZST, DEEP, and grass-roots Japanese events so great. Watching construction workers and Janitors with tie-dyed hair fighting. With ZST genesis (amateur rules), they had a match between the organization's doctor and a ref. Now if they can get Larry Landless and Dana to fight that would be gold.
He'd have a more impressive record if he didnt fight so many fights at 155lbs. He's a more natural 143 guy.
Gujin: I don't know, it looked kinda crazy:
Resu: Really? do they have the video out for that fight? I wanna see that!
The Ref. vs. Ring Dr. match was at Battle Hazard 01,and I think it was a grappling match IIRC.
Yeah, Tokoro is a now janitor. But he used to be a salaryman when he started out. So he used to have money, but decided to quit his carreer and pursue fighting pro. So along the line he became a janitor to make ends meet
look at the bright side, at least being a janitor in Japan isn't nearly as bad as say U.S. or Mexico.
janitors get lots of pussy
I think I saw a clip of that in ZST GP footage too.
gah, need a video host...
it depends on where you buy your bentos as to whether it is cheap...can suck for nutrition of course, but Super Tamade and the like (ie. discount grocery stores) have very cheap bentos (compared to a convenience store)...