Duk Koo Kim
Encyclopedia
Kim Duk-Koo was a South Korea
n boxer
who died following a boxing match against Ray Mancini
. His death sparked a number of reforms in the sport aimed to better protect the health of fighters.
province, South Korea, 100 miles east of Seoul
, the youngest of five children. His father died when he was two and his mother married three more times. Kim grew up poor. He worked odd jobs such as shoeshine boy and tour guide before getting into boxing in 1976. After compiling a 29–4 amateur record, he turned professional in 1978. In February 1982, he won the Orient and Pacific Boxing Federation lightweight title. Kim carried a 17–1–1 professional record into the Mancini fight and had won 8 bouts by KO before flying to Las Vegas
in the WBA
as the world's number 1 challenger to world lightweight champion Mancini. However, he had only fought outside of South Korea once before in Indonesia, it was his first time ever fighting in North America.
Mancini and Kim met in an arena outside Caesars Palace
on November 13, 1982. Mancini and Kim went toe to toe for a good portion of the bout, to the point that Mancini briefly considered quitting. Kim tore open Mancini's left ear and puffed up his left eye, and Mancini's left hand swelled to twice its normal size. However, by the latter rounds, Mancini began to dominate, landing many more punches than Kim did. In the 11th he buckled Kim's knees. In the beginning of the 13th round Mancini charged Kim with a flurry of 39 punches, but having little effect, Sugar Ray Leonard
(working as one of the commentators of the fight) said Kim came right back very strong, later on Sugar Ray said declared the round to be closely contested. When the fighters came out for the 14th round, Mancini charged forward and hit Kim with a right. Kim reeled back, Mancini missed with a left, and then Mancini hit Kim with another hard right hand. Kim went flying into the ropes, his head hitting the canvas hard. Kim managed to rise unsteadily to his feet, but Green stopped the fight and Mancini was declared the winner by TKO nineteen seconds into the 14th round.
Minutes after the fight was over, Kim collapsed into a coma
, and was taken out of the Caesars Palace arena on a stretcher. Emergency brain surgery was performed at the hospital to try to save him, but that effort proved to be futile, and Kim died 4 days after the bout, on November 17, the neurosurgeon said it was caused by one punch. The week after, Sports Illustrated
published a photo of the fight on its cover, under the heading Tragedy in The Ring. The profile of the incident was heightened by the fight having been televised live by CBS
in the United States
.
Kim had never had a 15-round bout before. In contrast, Mancini was much more experienced at the time. He had fought 15-round bouts three times and gone on to round 14 once more. Kim compiled a record of 17 wins with 1 losses and 0 draw. Eight of Kim's wins were knockout
s.
, said Mancini "was never the same" after Kim's death. Two years later, Mancini lost his title to Livingstone Bramble
.
Four weeks after the fatal fight, the Mike Weaver vs Michael Dokes
fight at the same Caesars Palace venue ended with a technical knockout declared 63 seconds into the fight. Referee Joey Curtis
admitted to stopping the fight early under orders of the Nevada State Athletic Commission to be aware of a fighter's health in light of the Mancini-Kim fight, and a rematch was ordered.
Kim's mother flew from Korea to Las Vegas to be with her son before the life support equipment was turned off. Three months later, she took her own life by drinking a bottle of pesticide. The bout's referee, Richard Green, committed suicide
July 1, 1983.
Kim left behind a fiancée, Lee Young-Mee, who was pregnant at the time with their son, Kim Chi-Wan, who was born in July 1983.
, which was not the fight's sanctioning organization, announced during its annual convention of 1982 that many rules concerning fighters' medical care before fights needed to be changed. One of the most significant was the WBC's reduction of title fights from fifteen rounds to twelve. The WBA and the IBF
followed the WBC in 1987. When the WBO was formed in 1988, it immediately began operating with 12-round world championship bouts.
Additionally, on the recommendation of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the number of ring ropes was increased from five to six to prevent fighters from falling through the ropes and out of the ring.
In the years after Kim's death new medical procedures were introduced to fighters' pre-fight checkups, such as electrocardiogram
s, brain tests, and lung tests. As one boxing leader put it, "A fighter's check-ups before fights used to consist of blood pressure and heartbeat checks before 1982. Not anymore."
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who died following a boxing match against Ray Mancini
Ray Mancini
Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini is a retired Italian-American boxer. He held the World Boxing Association lightweight championship from 1982 to 1984. Mancini inherited his distinctive nickname from his father, veteran boxer Lenny "Boom Boom" Mancini, who laid the foundation for his son's career...
. His death sparked a number of reforms in the sport aimed to better protect the health of fighters.
Life and boxing career
Kim was born in GangwonGangwon-do (South Korea)
Gangwon-do is a province of South Korea, with its capital at Chuncheon. Before the division of Korea in 1945, Gangwon and its North Korean neighbour Kangwŏn formed a single province.-History:...
province, South Korea, 100 miles east of Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, the youngest of five children. His father died when he was two and his mother married three more times. Kim grew up poor. He worked odd jobs such as shoeshine boy and tour guide before getting into boxing in 1976. After compiling a 29–4 amateur record, he turned professional in 1978. In February 1982, he won the Orient and Pacific Boxing Federation lightweight title. Kim carried a 17–1–1 professional record into the Mancini fight and had won 8 bouts by KO before flying to Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
in the WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
as the world's number 1 challenger to world lightweight champion Mancini. However, he had only fought outside of South Korea once before in Indonesia, it was his first time ever fighting in North America.
Mancini match
Kim was lightly regarded by the American boxing establishment. Kim struggled to lose weight on the days prior to the bout so that he could weigh in under the lightweight's 135-pound limit. Prophetically, he wrote the message "live or die" on his Las Vegas hotel lamp shade only days before the bout (Kim wrote "live or die" but a mistaken translation led to "kill or be killed" being reported in the media). He even had a mini-coffin brought to his hotel room.Mancini and Kim met in an arena outside Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
on November 13, 1982. Mancini and Kim went toe to toe for a good portion of the bout, to the point that Mancini briefly considered quitting. Kim tore open Mancini's left ear and puffed up his left eye, and Mancini's left hand swelled to twice its normal size. However, by the latter rounds, Mancini began to dominate, landing many more punches than Kim did. In the 11th he buckled Kim's knees. In the beginning of the 13th round Mancini charged Kim with a flurry of 39 punches, but having little effect, Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard is an American retired professional boxer and occasional actor. He was named Ray Charles Leonard, after his mother's favorite singer, Ray Charles...
(working as one of the commentators of the fight) said Kim came right back very strong, later on Sugar Ray said declared the round to be closely contested. When the fighters came out for the 14th round, Mancini charged forward and hit Kim with a right. Kim reeled back, Mancini missed with a left, and then Mancini hit Kim with another hard right hand. Kim went flying into the ropes, his head hitting the canvas hard. Kim managed to rise unsteadily to his feet, but Green stopped the fight and Mancini was declared the winner by TKO nineteen seconds into the 14th round.
Minutes after the fight was over, Kim collapsed into a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
, and was taken out of the Caesars Palace arena on a stretcher. Emergency brain surgery was performed at the hospital to try to save him, but that effort proved to be futile, and Kim died 4 days after the bout, on November 17, the neurosurgeon said it was caused by one punch. The week after, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
published a photo of the fight on its cover, under the heading Tragedy in The Ring. The profile of the incident was heightened by the fight having been televised live by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Kim had never had a 15-round bout before. In contrast, Mancini was much more experienced at the time. He had fought 15-round bouts three times and gone on to round 14 once more. Kim compiled a record of 17 wins with 1 losses and 0 draw. Eight of Kim's wins were knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
s.
Aftermath of Kim's death
Mancini went through a period of reflection, as he blamed himself for Kim's death. After friends helped him by telling him that it was just an accident, Mancini went on with his career, though still haunted by Kim's death. His promoter, Bob ArumBob Arum
Robert "Bob" Arum is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. He also worked for the US Attorney's Office for the southern district of New York in the tax division....
, said Mancini "was never the same" after Kim's death. Two years later, Mancini lost his title to Livingstone Bramble
Livingstone Bramble
Ras-I Alujah Bramble is a boxer. However, Bramble was raised on Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. He became the first world champion from Saint Kitts and Nevis. As of 2005, Bramble is still active in professional boxing...
.
Four weeks after the fatal fight, the Mike Weaver vs Michael Dokes
Michael Dokes
Michael Marshall Dokes is a former American boxer in the heavyweight division, nicknamed "Dynamite."-Amateur career:...
fight at the same Caesars Palace venue ended with a technical knockout declared 63 seconds into the fight. Referee Joey Curtis
Joey Curtis
George Curtis was a former professional boxer, referee and business owner who was licensed to officiate bouts in Las Vegas, Nevada....
admitted to stopping the fight early under orders of the Nevada State Athletic Commission to be aware of a fighter's health in light of the Mancini-Kim fight, and a rematch was ordered.
Kim's mother flew from Korea to Las Vegas to be with her son before the life support equipment was turned off. Three months later, she took her own life by drinking a bottle of pesticide. The bout's referee, Richard Green, committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
July 1, 1983.
Kim left behind a fiancée, Lee Young-Mee, who was pregnant at the time with their son, Kim Chi-Wan, who was born in July 1983.
Boxing rule changes
The WBCWorld Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
, which was not the fight's sanctioning organization, announced during its annual convention of 1982 that many rules concerning fighters' medical care before fights needed to be changed. One of the most significant was the WBC's reduction of title fights from fifteen rounds to twelve. The WBA and the IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
followed the WBC in 1987. When the WBO was formed in 1988, it immediately began operating with 12-round world championship bouts.
Additionally, on the recommendation of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the number of ring ropes was increased from five to six to prevent fighters from falling through the ropes and out of the ring.
In the years after Kim's death new medical procedures were introduced to fighters' pre-fight checkups, such as electrocardiogram
Electrocardiogram
Electrocardiography is a transthoracic interpretation of the electrical activity of the heart over a period of time, as detected by electrodes attached to the outer surface of the skin and recorded by a device external to the body...
s, brain tests, and lung tests. As one boxing leader put it, "A fighter's check-ups before fights used to consist of blood pressure and heartbeat checks before 1982. Not anymore."