By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Once a breeding ground for world-class boxers, South Korea now seems to be down for the count.
According to one of the nation's most popular boxing heroes, the sport here has failed to live up to its rich history and lost its place as Korea's most popular athletic competition to baseball and football long ago.
But Chang Jung-koo, a former World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight champion who is considered the greatest of all Korean boxers, believes that above all, breaking the sport's stereotypes will help boxing get up off the mat.
"South Koreans have had this peculiar idea that boxers are uneducated and poor, an idea that is becoming more entrenched as people are becoming better off nowadays," Chang said in an interview with The Korea Times.
"The idea is deeply rooted in our parents' generation and extends to mine and to our children's generation. But I believe that this notion can be changed in the future."
Boxing was first introduced here about 100 years ago, and it gained in popularity until the 1980s as Korea produced several high-profile fighters.
But ever since South Korea began enjoying its meteoric rise in economic development and standard of living in the '80s, Korean boxing has not only lost ground, it has fallen almost completely off the map.
"There are about 500 boxers here, but none of them are prepared to challenge for a title," a Korea Boxing Commission (KBC) official told The Korea Times. "People just moonlight with boxing. As a result, if they hit the wall, they are quick to quit."
Chang agrees that few people take boxing seriously anymore.
"There were do-or-die fighters in the old days, but now people who are interested in health and dieting box to lose weight," he said.
"There is a big difference mentally between those who want to become a boxer and those who are interested in dieting."
The decline in the number of people practicing the sport has coincided with the decline in media coverage and crowds at events, and investment in the sport has all but dried up.
After failing to find a sponsor, the country's annual rookie tournament, originally slated to take place in December, had to be postponed until this March.
Chang, now 46, turned pro on Nov. 17, 1980 at the age of 17 after an impressive amateur career and compiled an 18-0 record in the professional ranks before earning himself a WBC light flyweight title match against Hilario Zapata of Panama on Sept. 18, 1982, in which he suffered the first loss of his career in a split decision.
However, the Busan native avenged the defeat six months later, claiming the title from Zapata with a third-round technical knockout (TKO).
His reign as champion would last from 1983 to 1988, during which time he successfully defended his title 15 times against the likes of German Torres (three times), Sot Chitlada, Hideyuki Ohashi (twice), and Isidro Perez - all of whom later claimed world titles.
His 15 defenses stood as a record until compatriot Yuh Myoung-woo defended his World Boxing Association (WBA) junior flyweight title 17 times in a row between 1985 and 1991.
"I never thought that I would be good enough to win 15 successive title defenses," Chang said.
"There had never been a Korean boxer who had pulled off a fifth title defense, so I set my sights on going for six. And after achieving that, my goal was nine, because the Chinese letter for my given name, 'koo,' stands for nine. After that, I just tried my best in every single bout."
The perm-haired boxer earned many Korean firsts in his career, although none more surprising than when he became the first Korean boxer to renounce a world title.
Soon after his 15th title defense, the 25-year-old champion, who had a 36-1 record at the time, suddenly relinquished the belt and retired from the sport in 1988 when his wife took off to America with all his money.
"My life was in disarray at that time due to complicated domestic reasons, so I made up my mind to walk away from boxing," said Chang, now a businessman in Seoul.
"As I valued pride above everything else, I wanted to quit with honor rather than lose and earn fight money, although my 16th title defense match had already been set."
But boxing is not a sport known for its happy endings and Chang was no exception.
Financial difficulties forced Chang ― once the highest-earning Korean athlete who received 70 million won per bout at his peak, compared to the 20 million won made annually by the most expensive baseball player back then ― to return to the ring the following year.
But all that awaited the past-his-prime 26 year old upon his return was a bitter ending.
Chang fell to Humberto Gonzalez in a WBC light flyweight title match and also lost two more WBC flyweight title bids before hanging up his gloves for good with a 38-4 (17 KOs) record in 1991.
"Although for me, returning to the ring was inevitable, I never should have gone back after giving up the title," Chang said.
"When I made my return to the ring, I was not who I had been before.
"It was really tough to regain my form after an emotional shock."
Despite a disappointing end to his career, Chang ― nicknamed "The Korean Hawk" for his relentless style comparable to former junior welterweight champion Aaron "Hawk" Pryor of the United States ― established himself as the most successful South Korean boxer ever.
He became the first South Korean boxer to be ranked among the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters by Ring Magazine, which also listed him as the second-best junior flyweight of all-time behind American Michael Carbajal.
In addition, he was selected as one of the top 10 boxers of the 1980s by the WBC; one of the top 27 in honor of the WBC's 30th anniversary in 1993; and one of its top 25 of the 20th century.
Perhaps Chang's biggest honor came on Dec. 8 when it was announced that he will be among 11 inductees to the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF).
"He was an outstanding fighter and a national hero in Korea," said Angelo Dundee, a 1992 Hall of Fame inductee.
"Chang Jung-koo is one of the truly greatest fighters Korea has ever produced," HOF Executive Director Edward Brophy said.
"It is a big honor as a boxer," Chang said.
"I think I have contributed to the improvement of Korean boxing by entering the shrine, an honor that was not bestowed upon many of my boxing elders."
Chang is scheduled to be officially inducted on June 13, 2010 in Canastota, N.Y.
Despite the bleak situation of the sport in Korea, the nation's first Hall of Famer is optimistic about the future.
"South Korean boxing still has potential. It will be able to bounce back if the entrenched notion about the sport is changed. Some say that Korean boxing can't be revived, but I do not believe it."