Kim Duk Koo

Duk Koo was born on January 8, 1959 in Coson , Gangwon-do , in a poor peasant family - was the fifth child of his parents. Originally wore the name of Lee, but when he was two years old, his father died, and his mother later married several times, so the boy eventually got the name of one of his stepfathers - Kim. As a child, he was often bullied by his peers, constantly fought with other children, and in his village he became known as a bully ^[2] . Trying to escape poverty, he went to Seoul as a teenager, where he took on any job, changed many different professions: he was a shoe polisher, auxiliary workers in a metallurgical factory, a wandering bookseller, and a tour guide. In 1976, he came to the boxing gym and became actively involved in boxing, for two years at the amateur level he won 29 victories, suffered 4 defeats, after which he decided to become professional.

Career start

In December 1978, Kim had his first professional fight, in a four-round bout on points, outplayed compatriot Pak Myung Soo. However, at first, his career was not very successful, in the third fight he was beaten by debutant Lee John Syl, and in the seventh, when the same newcomer Chan Pheo went up against him, the judges fixed the draw. Despite the setbacks, Kim continued to step into the ring, successfully traveled to the Philippines, defeating a local fighter, and in December 1980, in a battle with Lee, Phil Gu won the South Korean lightweight champion title.

Gradually, his skills grew, victories became more convincing, some rivals found themselves in knockouts already in the initial rounds. In February 1982, taking over the uncompromising Japanese Katsuhiro Okubo, Kim won the right to fight for the belt of the champion of the Asia-Pacific Boxing Federation (ATBF) - the current champion Kim Gwan Min stood on his feet all twelve rounds, but the judges still gave the victory to the challenger. This achievement meant a lot to Kim, he triumphantly returned to his native village, delivered a solemn speech to his fellow villagers, and for the first time in a long time visited his elderly mother. Over the course of the year, he defended his title three times, and in November he suddenly had a chance to enter the ring against American Ray Mancini , world champion in lightweight, according to the World Boxing Association (BWA) ^[3] .

Fight against Ray Mancini

The match took place on November 13, 1982 in the open area of ​​the Caesars Palace entertainment complex in Las Vegas , and was broadcast live on CBS television. Kim, who spent most of his fights at home, first came so far abroad, and this was his first fight in fifteen rounds, while Mancini was a more experienced boxer in this regard, for the fourth time he participated in such a fifteen-round marathon, and previously one of his fights lasted until the fourteenth round. The American press was mostly skeptical of the Korean challenger ^[4] , although the current champion was preparing for his rival with all seriousness, noting in one of the interviews that "there will be war in the ring." Kim himself considered this fight as the most important in his career, he tuned to him as the last fight in his life, in particular, in the hotel room on the lampshade of the lamp, he left an inscription in Korean “live or die” (in the press the wrong translation “kill or be killed ").

Contrary to the expectations of specialists, Kim started the battle quite successfully, was not inferior to his opponent, struck several strong blows to the head, after which Mancini had serious hematomas on his face, and his left eye was almost completely closed. However, closer to the middle of the match, the champion began to decline the course of the fight in his favor, inflicting more and more accurate shots - in the eleventh round after a series of successful hits, Kim fell to his knees, but quickly rose and continued to box. In the thirteenth round, Mancini brought down 39 unanswered punches on Kim, but this did not have any effect - the Korean remained on his feet and steadily went to the "cabin". Sugar Ray Leonard , who was present at the match as a commentator, noted that Kim was excellent in strikes and, due to his incredible stamina, could still claim the title.

At the beginning of the fourteenth round, Mancini struck a powerful blow with his right, Kim recoiled back, and the succeeding left-handed hit went off the target. The American literally immediately held another right over the stunned opponent, and the challenger fell to the floor, hitting the back of his head against the ring of the ring. Despite the hardest shock, Kim still managed to rise to his feet, but referee Richard Green decided to stop the fight, fixing a knockout. After a few minutes, the Korean fell into a coma and left the arena on a stretcher unconscious. At the hospital, he was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma of about 100 ml. The operation did not help, and four days after being hospitalized, Kim, without regaining consciousness, died. The neurosurgeon who performed the operation reported that only one direct blow to the head was the cause of such serious damage. The body of Kim Duk Koo was returned to Korea and buried according to Christian tradition in his home village in Kosan.

After the battle

The incident with the Korean boxer produced a big resonance in the sports community, in particular, the American magazine Sports Illustrated came out with a photo of the fight on the cover and the central headline “Tragedy in the ring” ^[5] . Kim's mother could not accept the loss of her son and three months later committed suicide by drinking a bottle of pesticide. The referee in the ring, Richard Green, considered himself guilty of the death of a 23-year-old Korean, because he did not stop the fight in time, and in July 1983 he also committed suicide ^[6] . Ray Mancini, who defended the title, fell into a state of apathy, but his friends convinced him that the incident was not his fault, but an accident. The American continued his career, there were still many significant victories in his biography, although promoter Bob Arum noted that his ward changed noticeably after this incident and was never the same ^[7] .

In Korea, Kim was waited for by the pregnant bride Lee Yong Mi, and in July 1983, the deceased boxer had a son, Kim Ji Wan, who later became a rather successful dentist. In 2011, they met with Mancini during the filming of a documentary about an American champion ^[8] .

The death of Kim Duk Ku made sporting officials think about the security of the fighters during fights. The Nevada State Athletic Commission immediately after the incident instructed the judges to closely monitor the health of the boxers during fights and stop the matches if they are suspicious. As a result, the next battle between Michael Weaver and Michael Dokes , which took place at Caesars Palace, was stopped by the referee in the second minute of the first round. In 1982, at the annual meeting of the World Boxing Council (WBC), it was decided to abandon the fifteen-round fights, the title fights are now held in a format of twelve rounds. In 1987, this initiative was supported by two other leading boxing organizations, WBA and WBF , and the UBO , which was formed in 1988, from the very beginning approved twelve-round championship matches in its rules. Much attention was paid to the preliminary examination of boxers before entering the ring, if earlier doctors only had to check blood pressure and the possibility of a heart attack, now they conduct thorough examinations: electrocardiograms, brain and lung tests are done ^[9] .

It is noteworthy that in 2007, under similar circumstances, another Korean, Choi Yo Sam , died.

In popular culture

• In 2002, a biopic about Kim entitled “The Champion ” was shot in South Korea, the main role was played by actor Yu O Son .
• The American rock band Sun Kil Moon dedicated a song to Kim on their 2003 album Ghosts of the Great Highway .
• American rock musician Warren Zivon has a song called “Boom Boom Mancini,” which mentions Ray Mancini and Kim Duk Ku.

• Kim Duk Ku (English) - statistics of professional fights on the site BoxRec
• Kim Duk Ku (English) on the Find a Grave website