Yuh Hwan-kil (; September 23, 1962 – April 21, 2009) 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 has held the inaugural

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

junior-lightweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New Yo ...

title between April 1984 to February 1985.

Professional career

On December 6, 1981, he won the vacant

OPBF The Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) is a professional boxing organization that sanctions title fights in the Asian and Pacific region. History Oriental boxing started in the Philippines in 1946 after the Spanish-American War. While ...

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

title and defended it three times. On April 22, 1984, Yuh won the inaugural

champion with a split decision win over Rod Sequenan. He defended the belt once before losing it to

Lester Ellis Lester Ellis (born 15 March 1965) is a British-born Australian former professional boxer. He is a five-time world champion, having also held the Australian and Commonwealth (twice) titles. At the age of 19, In 1985, Ellis fought and beat then- ...

in 1985.

Death

On April 21, 2009, he died after 3 years of being in a

vegetative state A persistent vegetative state (PVS) or post-coma unresponsiveness (PCU) is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness. After four weeks in a vegetative stat ...

. He had been injured in a

hit and run accident In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...

Professional boxing record

External links

* 1962 births 2009 deaths Super-featherweight boxers International Boxing Federation champions South Korean male boxers People from Namhae County {{Korea-boxing-bio-stub