Kim Ji-won (boxer)

Kim Ji-won (Template:Korean; born 6 August 1959 in Seoul) is a former South Korean boxer who was an unbeaten world champion in the super bantamweight division. He is one of just fifteen world boxing champions to retire without a loss.

Amateur career

Kim began garnering attention in 1978 when he won the flyweight (-51 kg) gold medal at the Asian Junior Amateur Boxing Championships in Karachi, Pakistan.

In 1979, Kim won the gold medal in the flyweight division at the CISM Amateur Boxing Championships in Caracas, Venezuela, beating Oudahi Mohammad Amin of Algeria via first-round knockout in the final bout.

In February 1980, Kim participated in the Asian Amateur Boxing Championships held in Bombay, India. There he captured the gold medal in the flyweight division. In April 1980, Kim won the flyweight gold medal at the King's Cup Boxing, beating future World Amateur Boxing Championship bronze medalist Constantin Titoiu of Romania in the final bout.

In 1981, Kim won the bantamweight gold medal at the King's Cup Boxing, defeating future Commonwealth Games gold medalist Hussein Khalili of Kenya in the final.

Pro career

On 17 May 1983 the southpaw defeated Chun Chan-jung for the Korean super bantamweight title. Four months later he fought Little Bangoyan for the vacant Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) title, capturing it with a twelve-round decision. For the next year Kim made five defenses of his OPBF title against the likes of Lito Cortez (KO 2), Rolando Navarro (PTS 12), and Fel Malatag (TKO 6).

On 3 January 1985, he fought countryman and reigning International Boxing Federation super bantamweight champion Suh Sung-in. Kim won via a tenth round stoppage. Kim would make four successful defenses of his title against future WBO featherweight champion Ruben Dario Palacios (W15, 30 March 1985), former IBF super bantamweight champions Bobby Berna (KO 4, 28 June 1985) and Suh Sung-in (KO 1, 9 October 1985), and Rudy Casicas (KO 2, 2 May 1986).

In December 1986, he retired from boxing in order to become a theatrical actor and singer, finishing with a record of 16 wins, no losses, and two draws, both draws coming from the same boxer. He would become one of the few world champions to retire undefeated.

Personal life

Kim has one sister, Ji-Sook, the Grand Bell Award winning actress, and one brother, Ji-Woon who is a world-acclaimed filmmaker.

Professional boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
18	Template:Yes2Win	Template:Nowrap	Rudy Casicas	TKO	2 (15)	Jun 1, 1986	Template:Small	Template:Small
17	Template:Yes2Win	15–0–2	Suh Sung-in	KO	1 (15)	Oct 9, 1985	Template:Small	Template:Small
16	Template:Yes2Win	14–0–2	Bobby Berna	KO	4 (15)	Jun 28, 1985	Template:Small	Template:Small
15	Template:Yes2Win	13–0–2	Rubén Darío Palacio	UD	15	Mar 30, 1985	Template:Small	Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2Win	12–0–2	Suh Sung-in	KO	10 (15)	Jan 3, 1985	Template:Small	Template:Small
13	Template:Yes2Win	11–0–2	Fel Malatag	TKO	6 (12)	Sep 15, 1984	Template:Small	Template:Small
12	Template:Yes2Win	10–0–2	Rolando Navarro	PTS	12	Apr 8, 1984	Template:Small	Template:Small
11	Template:Yes2Win	9–0–2	Saipa Monod	KO	4 (12)	Feb 12, 1984	Template:Small	Template:Small
10	Template:Yes2Win	8–0–2	Lito Cortez	KO	2 (12)	Dec 11, 1983	Template:Small	Template:Small
9	Template:Yes2Win	7–0–2	Little Bangoyan	UD	12	Oct 29, 1983	Template:Small	Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	6–0–2	Chan Joong Jun	PTS	10	Sep 18, 1983	Template:Small	Template:Small
7	Template:DrawDraw	5–0–2	Neptali Alamag	PTS	10	May 17, 1983	Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2Win	5–0–1	Sandy Noora	PTS	10	Feb 27, 1983	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	4–0–1	Yoo Kyung Huh	PTS	10	Dec 12, 1982	Template:Small
4	Template:DrawDraw	3–0–1	Neptali Alamag	SD	10	Sep 10, 1982	Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2Win	3–0	Efren Quinta	PTS	10	Apr 17, 1982	Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	Danilo Inocian	PTS	10	Feb 28, 1982	Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Hyung Shik Ahn	PTS	8	Jan 24, 1982	Template:Small