Fake Image Verification: Monthly Gong Magazine, June 1974 Issue

I verified a joke photo that a friend introduced to me.

It is difficult because it slightly misses the mark on what makes it funny, and the audience it appeals to is quite limited, but it is true that it will resonate with some people. However, there are many points that can be criticized, which is a bit disappointing.

The cover of Gong magazine (Nippon Sports Publishing). Only a very 'knowledgeable' pro-wrestling fan would understand this, but this is from the era when Gong was a monthly magazine, not a weekly one. At the time, the monthly Gong magazine covered boxing and kickboxing in addition to pro-wrestling. The history behind this is that the Bessatsu Gong magazine was launched because the monthly Gong alone did not have enough space to cover the pro-wrestling boom at the time.

The text is small and hard to read, but it says Showa 49 (1974). This would be the June 1974 issue.

Speaking of Showa 49, in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, there was the NWF match between Antonio Inoki and Strong Kobayashi, and in All Japan Pro-Wrestling, there was the match where Giant Baba defeated Jack Brisco to become the first Japanese person to win the NWA World title.

The boxing world was in the golden age of Guts Ishimatsu.

The cover of that 'Gong' magazine appears to be a preview for some kind of boxing title match, where champion Kosaku Yamada is set to face challenger George Gershwin in his 18th title defense.

Now, those who can laugh at this need a certain amount of knowledge or education to understand what it is about; otherwise, they will have no idea.

Kosaku Yamada is that Yamada, the composer of 'Akatombo' (Red Dragonfly) and others. Gershwin is the composer of 'Rhapsody in Blue'.

These two are fighting in a boxing match?

First, you have to realize that this is a fake.

As I wrote earlier, this issue of the magazine was released in Showa 49, which is 1974.

Yamada passed away in 1965. Gershwin passed away in 1937.

There is no way they could fight.

So, was there a boxer with the same name back in 1974?

I looked into that too, but no such boxer exists.

Besides, the photo is clearly the face of the composer himself.

There is a possibility of a deepfake, but at least the Gershwin one is undoubtedly real. There are records that he himself was a boxing fan, and there is a photo of him actually wearing gloves. That is this photo.

As for Yamada, no matter how much I researched, I could not find any connection to boxing. The only record found was that he apparently played table tennis. Therefore, Yamada might be a deepfake, or such a photo might have actually existed. According to information provided later, Yamada was training while doing something like boxing. According to an essay titled "On Striking" published in Ikuma Dan's "Pipe Smoke," Kōsaku Yamada actually hit a punching bag for training, which means there is a possibility that this photo is genuine.

Another point to critique: the hype like "Will he achieve his 18th title defense!?" Boxing fans would notice the absurdity of this description.

The record for the most world title defenses by a Japanese person is 13, held by Yoko Gushiken.

Even if it were referencing Guts Ishimatsu, a champion active at the time, his defense record was only five.

Therefore, the intent of this fake is unclear. What kind of audience is it targeting? Classical music fans? I don't think it would appeal to boxing or pro-wrestling fans.

It misses the mark slightly, the angle is too sloppy, and the research is half-baked, resulting in a rather disappointing fake.

There is an irony in the fact that its very disappointment is what makes it funny.

Anyway, I wanted to introduce it, so I posted it.

I am also posting the photo from the actual June 1974 issue of "Gong." Surprisingly, the cover features Pedro Morales and Muhammad Ali. Come to think of it, in the "Gong" of that era, it was almost unheard of for boxing or kickboxing to be on the cover instead of pro-wrestling. For those who know that time, that is another point to critique.

If I recall correctly, wasn't the editor-in-chief of "Gong" magazine in 1974 Mr. Koyanagi, who was known as the "Heartless No-License"?