Tsu Shipwreck woke Peru in 1983, among other things, the brutal reality of terrorism. President Belaunde had sent the sinchis to Ayacucho on December 82 and the front pages of newspapers showed the latest pictures of journalists murdered in the remote Uchuraccay. Summer had come with El Niño and swore to have heard some thunder from behind the hills of La Molina and Surco, a night of unusual rainfall in the capital.
For younger readers these events served only as a set of what we are really concerned: The song Maniac Michael Sembello , the soundtrack of the movie "Flashdance" was hailed as the "More More" Radio Panamericana, leaving behind pop anthems of the eighties as Modern Love David Bowie, Beat it Michael Jackson or Hungry Like A Wolf Duran Duran, among others. Hitherto unknown in the UHF television frequency, Channel 27 began airing its movie programming poaching "B" U.S. with subtitles among which are "Hots" ("hot pants") to Susan Kiger and a cast of voluptuous blondes generous anatomy that made the delight of our curiosity pubescent. At the local level, the "U" rm ed broken the four-year streak without a victory against the Alliance beating by 2 to 1 one night in February at the National Stadium, courtesy of a penalty and a shoe Leguía Germain the "Trout" Rojas.
Anyone who grew up in this decade can recall these events with little difficulty. What perhaps many have forgotten is that also in 1983, three Peruvians were able for the first and last time to fight for a world boxing title. Luis Ibanez in Japan, Orlando Romero "Romerito" at the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York and Oscar Rivadeneyra in Vancouver, Canada, jumped into the ring to sing "We are free" and sought a place among the winners names that adorn the national stadium Lima.
Of the three boxers, at least he is remembered is Luis Ibañez. And nobody had heard of him until just before the week before his world title fight of the Association flyweight World Boxing. Born in Lima, had emigrated abroad at an early age and established a name as a professional fighter living in San José, Costa Rica. In his record of 33 wins and one loss included an illustrious roster of complete strangers, perhaps part-time fighters Residential Area, and through which he could climb in the world ranking to register as a contender in the flyweight crown. In Peru was not known nor photos, but still had Ibañez Peruvian nationality (unlike tennis cholo Alex Olmedo, who had the unfortunate idea of \u200b\u200badopting U.S. citizenship before winning Wimbledon) and that was reason enough for that the sports page of El Comercio will devote extensive coverage to the event. Others were not far behind were the Ovation magazine Pocho Rospigliosi and his weekly sports giant, where, true to form, an announced "Special Ibañez" turned out to be a long conversation about Mauro Mina and Cassius Clay from Pocho, the venerable Koko Cárdenas and the Veco.
Little or nothing was known either Ibañez's rival, Japanese champion Jiro Watanabe. The only picture I had seen him in Ovation been published in which Japan posed with water waist-deep in a pool and fists on guard in typical boxer's pose. It said it was left-handed hitter, who had never fought outside of Japan and had dealt a brutal knockout of former world champion Argentine Gustavo Ballas. Y Watanabe aggressive look in his only photograph available in Peru revealed that he had prepared a similar outcome for the meeting with our compatriot.
addition, we could distinguish many world champion wore a curly thick hair, a novelty for those who had imagined Watanabe as a Japanese-understood to mean that any actor in the series "Ultraman" -. Curly hair and factions of fighter gave him rather a suspicious appearance of Tacora reducer that made our hopes to see a Peruvian crowned world champion still be more stark.
Channel 5, present in the events that make history, as we proclaim at every commercial break the old Martínez Morosini, promised to convey the fight live and direct from the coastal city of Tsu, in Japan. The only drawback was that by the time difference, it meant that the transfer was to begin at 6 am when Lima. That sounds familiar now, after days of volleyball, the Seoul Olympics and the grueling world of Japan-Korea, but then was something unusual. We were not trained in such a display in a hurry, and get up early to see how two men who'd never seen before exchanging punches seemed preposterous. Even so, getting on the schedule would be reserved for after the program "Amanecer Campesino" did not seem a high price to pay in return for possible reward: to see a Peruvian win the world title. So I, as I suspect many others did, I instructed my father to set the alarm clock at 5:30 am that Thursday, 24 February 1983.
When I turned on the TV at 5:40 am, I noticed the unpleasant surprise that the fight was already in the third round. A few seconds later, the remnants of sleep is not prevented me from realizing that all attendees at ringside had a suspicious appearance and wore guayaberas Caribbean that were consistent with what one would expect from a sports event in Japan. Worse, the boxer who Ibañez had to face not kept the slightest resemblance to the only picture we had seen of Watanabe. Then fell into the account due to the eternal imponderables Peruvian television, images of the fight not being broadcast live and in place Pan American had happened to the unfortunate idea of \u200b\u200ba video of a fight last Ibanez with audio live radio broadcast from Japan.
Minutes later, he missed the radio link with Tsu. And when the breaking of the sun on the hills of the district of Surco, the boring commentators on the television set reported that they had fallen Lucho Ibañez knocked out in the eighth round by the Japanese left-hander who looked like a villain. The novelero hope to see a world boxing champion Peruvian had sunk in the port of Tsu, Japan.
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