'My fight will end fast'

By Jung Min-ho

Actor Kim Bo-sung, who is scheduled to make his debut as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter in December, said his bout against Tetsuo Kondo will end quickly.

“I will knock him out before I start to sweat,” he told The Korea Times. “This is my strategy that everyone knows. Unlike my opponent, whose athletic career stretches back many years, I have just started to train like a professional athlete. So, this is my best chance of winning.”

Kim, 50, who has been featured in many action films, will prove his real-life athleticism against the Japanese fighter in the Road FC welterweight bout.

For Kim, the good news is that his opponent, 48, is not much younger. But Kondo is not an ordinary man in his late 40s. He played rugby for his high school team, and competed in judo as a professional athlete for 10 years before making his debut as a MMA fighter in 2012. His fight record is 17 wins, 14 losses and three draws.

Kim has devoted most of his training to improving his defense techniques to fend off Kondo’s takedown attempts.

“Many fighters who have helped me with my training told me that my punching power is powerful enough to knock out any fighter, although my wrestling and jujitsu skills are not great,” Kim said. “Not much training is needed for my punching power.”

Apparently, Kondo doesn’t take the coming fight as a serious challenge. During their press conference on Oct. 18, he said he does not need much practice to beat his Korean opponent. He said his chance of winning is 80 percent at least.

Kim said he is under enormous pressure to upset the odds.

“I can’t allow myself to lose the fight because I do not want to disappoint the children I’m trying to help,” he said. Win or lose, he said all his fight money will be donated for pediatric cancer patients.

This is not for a show. For many years, Kim has been engaged in many community services, helping such patients. Last year, he donated 30 million won ($26,500) for leukemia patients.

“I hope this fight will bring more attention to many children in need,” Kim said. “In the end, this makes everything I work for so much more meaningful. When I think about their fight against cancer my fear quickly disappears. I may lose the fight, but I will put everything I have into it.”

Their bout will be held on Dec. 10 at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul.