Hong Soo-hwan (
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 홍수환, born May 26, 1950) is a South Korean former
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who competed between 1969 and 1980. He is a
world champion in two weight classes, having held the
WBA and
''The Ring'' bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class is derived from Ba ...
titles from 1974 to 1975 and the WBA
super-bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to .
There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanctioning organizations or ...
title from 1977 to 1978.
Professional career
Hong turned pro in 1969 and in 1974 captured the
WBA and
''The Ring'' bantamweight title with a decision win over
Arnold Taylor
Arnold Taylor (15 July 1945 – 22 November 1981) was a South African boxer who held the Lineal and WBA bantamweight championships in 1973.
Background
Taylor lived during the apartheid period; Born to Muriel and Joe Taylor on 15 July 194 ...
in a fight in which Taylor was down in the 1st, 5th, and 14th rounds. He lost his title in his 2nd defense to
Alfonso Zamora
Alfonso Zamora Quiroz (born 9 February 1954) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 1980. He was the Lineal and WBA bantamweight champion, and made five title defenses. As an amateur, he won a silver medal in the ban ...
in 1975. In 1977 he captured the vacant WBA super bantamweight title in a 3rd-round knockout of Hector Carrasquilla. Hong was down 4 times in the 2nd and came back in the following round to win. He lost the title in his 2nd defense to
Ricardo Cardona in 1978.
Professional boxing record
Honors
Hong was named
''The Ring''s Progress of the Year
'' The Ring'' magazine was established in 1922 and gave an award for Progress of the Year from 1953 to 1988. It is given to a boxer who had made significant progress during the preceding year, or had otherwise made the most impressive jump from c ...
fighter for 1974.
See also
*
List of bantamweight boxing champions
This is a list of world bantamweight boxing champions, as recognized by the four major sanctioning organizations in boxing:
* The World Boxing Association (WBA), established in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA). The WBA often recognize ...
*
List of super-bantamweight boxing champions
This is a list of world super-bantamweight boxing champions, as recognized by the four major sanctioning organizations in boxing:
* The World Boxing Association (WBA), established in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA). The WBA often rec ...
References
External links
*
Official Website
1950 births
Living people
Bantamweight boxers
Super-bantamweight boxers
World bantamweight boxing champions
World super-bantamweight boxing champions
World Boxing Association champions
The Ring (magazine) champions
South Korean male boxers
Sportspeople from Seoul
Namyang Hong clan
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