Kim Ki-soo (; September 17, 1939 – June 10, 1997) was 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 from 1961 to 1969. He was South Korea's first world boxing champion, having held the
undisputed
Undisputed may refer to:
Film
* ''Undisputed'' (film), a 2002 action-thriller-drama film
** ''Undisputed'' (soundtrack), the soundtrack to the film
* Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, a 2006 American martial arts film
* Undisputed III: Redempt ...
WBA and
WBC
WBC may stand for:
Business
*Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS
*Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company
*Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
super-welterweight
Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA an ...
titles from 1966 to 1968.
Amateur career
Kim graduated from
Kyung Hee University
Kyung Hee University (abbreviated to KHU) (Hangul: 경희대학교; Hanja: 慶熙大學校) is a private research university in South Korea with campuses in Seoul and Suwon. Founded in 1949, it is widely regarded as one of the best universities i ...
's College of Physical Education.
He competed in
boxing at the 1958 Asian Games
The Boxing Tournament at the 1958 Asian Games was held in Korakuen Ice Palace, Tokyo, Japan from 28 to 31 May 1958. A total of 62 boxers from 11 nations competed.
The host nation dominated the competition winning six out of ten gold medals, Sou ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, where he earned the gold medal of the welterweight division by defeating
Soren Pirjanian of Iran, on points, in the final.
He went on to represent
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
as a welterweight at the
1960 Rome Olympic Games, where he defeated
Henry Perry (Ireland) on points, but then lost to
Nino Benvenuti
Giovanni "Nino" Benvenuti (born 26 April 1938) is an Italian former professional boxer and actor. He held world titles in two weight classes, having held the undisputed super-welterweight championship from June 1965 to June 1966 and the undispute ...
(Italy) on points.
[Kim Gi-Su]
sports-reference.com
Professional career
Kim turned professional in 1961 and captured the
WBC
WBC may stand for:
Business
*Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS
*Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company
*Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
,
WBA and Lineal light middleweight title when he upset
Nino Benvenuti
Giovanni "Nino" Benvenuti (born 26 April 1938) is an Italian former professional boxer and actor. He held world titles in two weight classes, having held the undisputed super-welterweight championship from June 1965 to June 1966 and the undispute ...
by split decision in 1966. He defended the belt twice before losing it to
Sandro Mazzinghi
Alessandro "Sandro" Mazzinghi (3 October 1938 – 22 August 2020) was an Italian professional boxer who held the world light middleweight championship twice.
Biography
In 1961 Mazzinghi won the Military World Championships. The same year he t ...
in 1968 by split decision. He retired the following year.
[
]
Later life
After his retirement, Kim worked as a boxing coach. He later started his own company, and was successful in business. He died of
liver cancer
Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...
on 10 June 1997, at the age of 57. He was survived by his wife Jeong Ha-ja (鄭夏子), two sons, and two daughters.
Professional boxing record
See also
*
List of world light-middleweight boxing champions
This is a chronological List of World Super Welterweight / Junior Middleweight / Light Middleweight Boxing Champions, as recognized by four of the better-known sanctioning organizations:
* The World Boxing Association (WBA), founded in 1921 as the ...
References
External links
*
Kim Ki-soo - CBZ Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Ki Soo
1939 births
1997 deaths
People from Pukchong County
Kyung Hee University alumni
Boxers at the 1958 Asian Games
Olympic boxers of South Korea
Boxers at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Asian Games medalists in boxing
Deaths from cancer in South Korea
Deaths from liver cancer
South Korean male boxers
Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea
Medalists at the 1958 Asian Games
World Boxing Association champions
World Boxing Council champions
Light-middleweight boxers
World light-middleweight boxing champions