Kim Duk-koo (

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 l ...

:김득구; born Lee Deokgu,

: 이덕구; July 29, 1955November 18, 1982) was a South Korean boxer who died after fighting in a world championship boxing match against

Ray Mancini Ray Mancini (born Raymond Michael Mancino; March 4, 1961), best known as "Boom Boom" Mancini, is an American former professional boxer who competed professionally from 1979 to 1992 and who has since worked as an actor and sports commentator. He ...

. His death sparked reforms aimed at better protecting the health of boxers, including reducing the number of rounds in championship bouts from 15 to 12.

Early life and education

Kim was born in Gangwon Province, South Korea, 100 miles east of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

, 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 a shoe-shining boy and a tour guide before getting into boxing in 1976.

Professional career

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 and became the

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

's number 1 contender. Kim carried a 17–1–1 professional record into the Mancini fight"Then All The Joy Turned To Sorrow"

Ralph Wiley Ralph Heygood Wiley Jr. (April 12, 1952 – June 13, 2004) was an American sports journalist who wrote for ''Sports Illustrated'' and ESPN's Page 2. He was well known for his distinctive literary tone and his writings on race in America. Earl ...

, ''Sports Illustrated'', November 22, 1982 and had won 8 bouts by KO before flying to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

as the world's ( WBA) number 1 challenger to world lightweight champion Mancini. However, he had fought outside of South Korea only once before, in the Philippines. It was his first time ever fighting in North America.

Mancini match

Kim was lightly regarded by the U.S. boxing establishment, but not by Ray Mancini, who believed the fight would be a "war". Kim struggled to lose weight in the days prior to the bout so that he could weigh in under the lightweight's 135-pound limit. Before the fight, Kim was quoted as saying "Either he dies or I die." He wrote the message "live or die" on his Las Vegas hotel lampshade only days before the bout (a mistaken translation led to "kill or be killed" being reported in the media). Mancini and Kim met in an arena outside

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

on November 13, 1982 (the night after Aaron Pryor defeated Alexis Arguello). They 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. After the fight Mancini's left eye would be completely closed. However, by the latter rounds, Mancini began to dominate, landing many more punches than Kim. 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 had little effect. Sugar Ray Leonard (working as one of the commentators of the fight) said Kim came right back very strong. Leonard later 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. Kim managed to rise unsteadily to his feet, but referee Richard Green stopped the fight and Mancini was declared the winner by TKO nineteen seconds into the 14th round.

of ''Sports Illustrated'', covering the fight, would later recall Kim pulling himself up the ropes as he was dying as "one of the greatest physical feats I had ever witnessed". Minutes after the fight was over, Kim collapsed into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

and was removed from the Caesars Palace arena on a stretcher and taken to the Desert Springs Hospital. At the hospital, he was found to have a subdural hematoma consisting of 100 cubic centimeters of blood in his skull. Emergency

brain surgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and ...

was performed at the hospital to try to save him, but Kim died five days after the bout, on November 18. The neurosurgeon said it was caused by one punch. The week after, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'' 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 fought 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 before. Kim compiled a record of 17 wins with two losses and one draw. Eight of Kim's wins were

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving strikin ...

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 Arum, said Mancini "was never the same" after Kim's death. Two years later, Mancini lost his title to

Livingstone Bramble Ras-I Alujah Bramble (born Livingstone Bramble on September 3, 1960) is the former WBA Lightweight boxing Champion of the World. Bramble was raised on Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. He became the first world champion from Saint Kitts and Nevis ...

. 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 George Curtis (April 9, 1925 – May 13, 2004) was a professional boxer, referee and business owner who was licensed to officiate bouts in Las Vegas, Nevada. Curtis, who had an undistinguished career as a boxer, lived in Las Vegas for thir ...

admitted to stopping the fight early under orders of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which required referees to be aware of a fighter's health, in light of the ManciniKim fight, and a rematch was ordered. Kim's mother flew from South Korea to Las Vegas to be with her son before the life support equipment was turned off. Three months later, she

committed suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and subs ...

by drinking a bottle of pesticide. The bout's referee, Richard Green, committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

via self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 1, 1983. Kim left behind a fiancée, Lee Young-Mee, despite rules against South Korean boxers having girlfriends. At the time of Kim's death, Lee was pregnant with their son, Kim Chi-Wan, who was born in July 1983. Kim Chi-Wan became a dentist. In 2011, Kim Chi-Wan and his mother had a meeting with Ray Mancini as part of a documentary on the life of Mancini called ''The Good Son''. In popular culture, the San Francisco-based band

Sun Kil Moon Sun Kil Moon is an American folk rock act from San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. Initially a continuation of the defunct indie rock band Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon is now the primary recording moniker of vocalist and guitarist ...

’s first album,

Ghosts of the Great Highway ''Ghosts of the Great Highway'' is the debut studio album by San Francisco quartet Sun Kil Moon, led by Red House Painters' founder Mark Kozelek, who composed all of the lyrics and music on this album. The other members are Anthony Koutsos (form ...

, has three tracks named after boxers, including a song about Duk-koo Kim which references the Mancini fight; ''

'' included the song on its list of greatest songs about sports.

Boxing rule changes

The Nevada State Athletic Commission proposed a series of rule changes as a result, announcing it before a December 10 match between Michael Dokes and Mike Weaver that would in itself be disputed because of what officials were informed before the fight. The break between rounds was initially proposed to go from 60 to 90 seconds (but it was later rescinded). The standing eight count (which allows a knockdown to be called even if the boxer is not down, but on the verge of being knocked down) was imposed, and new rules regarding suspension of licence were imposed (45 days after a knockout loss). The

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

(WBC), whose regional championship Kim held prior to relinquishing it for a WBA championship opportunity, 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 15 rounds to 12. The

(WBA), which sanctioned the fatal match, and the

International Boxing Federation 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 Cou ...

(IBF) followed the WBC in 1987. When the World Boxing Organization (WBO) was formed in 1988, it immediately began operating with 12-round world championship bouts. In the years after Kim's death, new medical procedures were introduced to fighters' pre-fight checkups, such as electrocardiograms, 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."

Professional boxing record

, - , colspan=8, , - , style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Res. , style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Rd., Time , style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , - , Loss , 17–2–1 ,

, KO , 14 , November 13, 1982 ,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, U.S. , For WBA Lightweight title; Kim died 5 days later. Kim's WBC OPBF title vacated. , - , Win , 17–1–1 , Tadao Ishido , TKO , 4 , July 18, 1982 ,

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 ...

, For Kim's WBC OPBF lightweight title , - , Win , 16–1–1 , Nick Caputol , UD , 10 , June 21, 1982 ,

, Non-Championship bout , - , Win , 15–1–1 , Flag of Thailand (TIS 982 draft standard)

Flash Villamer , UD , 12 , May 30, 1982 ,

, For Kim's WBC OPBF lightweight title , - , Win , 14–1–1 , Flag of Thailand (TIS 982 draft standard)

Suradej Kiongphajorn , KO , 1 , April 4, 1982 ,

, For Kim's WBC OPBF lightweight title , - , Win , 13–1–1 , Kwang-Min Kim , UD , 12 , February 28, 1982 ,

, For WBC OPBF lightweight title , - , Win , 12–1–1 , Katsuhiro Okubo , TKO , 3 , December 12, 1981 ,

, , - , Win , 11–1–1 , Flash Romeo , KO , 4 , September 9, 1981 ,

, , - , Win , 10–1–1 , Jun Escalera , PTS , 10 , August 16, 1981 ,

, , - , Win , 9–1–1 , Hong-Kyu Lim , TKO , 4 , April 22, 1981 ,

, , - , Win , 8–1–1 , Pil-Gu Lee , PTS , 10 , December 6, 1980 ,

, Lightweight title , - , Win , 7–1–1 , Tony Flores , TKO , 8 , July 16, 1980 ,

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, , - , Win , 6–1–1 , Han-Ki Choi , KO , 8 , June 21, 1980 ,

, , - , style="background:#dae2f1;", Draw , 5–1–1 , Chang-Pyo Kim , PTS , 8 , February 26, 1980 , Pusan,

, , - , Win , 5–1 , Young-Dae Kim , PTS , 4 , October 6, 1979 ,

, , - , Win , 4–1 , Suk-Soo Chang , PTS , 4 , September 1, 1979 ,

, , - , Win , 3–1 , Myung-Soo Park , KO , 1 , March 25, 1979 ,

Ulsan Ulsan (), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring ...

, , - , Loss , 2–1 , Jong-Sil Lee , PTS , 4 , December 9, 1978 ,

, , - , Win , 2–0 , Young-Wung Sung , PTS , 4 , December 8, 1978 ,

, , - , Win , 1–0 , Myung-Soo Park , PTS , 4 , December 7, 1978 ,

, Professional debut

Media

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

'' is a 2002 South Korean film about the life and career of Kim Duk-koo, played by Yu Oh-seong. ''The Good Son'' is a book and later 2012 movie about the life of Ray Mancini, that features the reunion of Kim's fiancée and son with Mancini.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Duk-Koo 1959 births 1982 deaths Deaths due to injuries sustained in boxing Filmed deaths in sports Sports deaths in Nevada South Korean male boxers Lightweight boxers Sportspeople from Gangwon Province, South Korea