Ju Do Chun

Today the IBF is considered as one of the "big 4" but it wasn't always like that, and in fact the IBF didn't exist until the early 1980's. Interestingly, the first IBF champion from Korea was Super Flyweight Ju Do Chun (20-4-3, 11) who fought from 1981 to 1989 and had a bit of a strange career which saw him setting quite a few records. Not only was he the first Korean IBF champion but he was, and still is, the youngest Korean to win a world title, of any kind.
 
So lets roll it back and look at who Ju Do Chun was and what he did in boxing.
 
Chun made his professional debut in Seoul at the age of 17, Kyu Sang Choi on May 8th 1981. He would suffer his first professional just 2 days later, and then fight back to back draws the following month. In the space of 7 weeks Chun had gone 1-1-2, fighting 16 rounds. That type of hectic schedule is something we don't often see now a days, but shows how the Korean system of the early 1980's, especially for Rookies, worked.
 
Although his start was less than great he was fighting for a promoter who had stars and had shown an ability to mould champions. At that point Chun was too inexperienced to become a champion so his team kept him incredibly busy and by the end of 1981 he had fit in another bout, moving his record to 2-1-2 (1). The following year was also a busy one for Chun, who fit 6 bouts into 1982, moving his record to 7-1-3 (2). Not only was he active but his bouts were becoming tougher and he was fighting in 8 round bouts on a regular basis by the end of the year.

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Chun continued to fight in 8 rounders during the early months of 1983. It was here he started to show real promise and in June 1983 he would get his first title bout, stopping Hee Yun Jung to become the Korean Super Flyweight champion. Jung had won the title in his third professional bout and was looking for his second defense before being knocked out in 4 rounds by Chun. Interestingly, Jung would later win an OPBF title and become a 2-weight Korean champion, showing how good this win actually when looking back over things.
 
As the new Korean champion Chun was busy, defending the belt twice in less than 4 months. Those defenses saw Chun's record sitting at 13-1-3 (4) and when the IBF set up he was regarded as a top Super Flyweight, he would face off with Japan's Ken Kasugai in Osaka in the inaugural IBF Super Flyweight title bout, on December 1983. 
 
The bout with Kasugai saw Chun win the title, stopping Kasugai in 5 rounds, to become of the very first IBF world champions, along with Dodie Boy Penalosa, who won the IBF Light Flyweight title on the same card, and Marvin Hagler, who had defended the Middleweight belt in May 1983. They came just 6 days after Bobby Berna had won the Super Bantamweight title in Seoul.
 
Chun's title win came when he was just 19 years old and he had only been a professional for 32 months. He wouldn't celebrate his 20th birthday until the following month and yet he was already a world champion.
 
On January 25th 1983 Chun celebrated his 20th birthday. Just 3 days later he was in the ring, defending his title for the first time and battling against Tha visitor Prayurasak Muangsurin, himself the Thai national champion. The bout was tough but in the end Chun would finish off the challenger in the 12th round, of a scheduled 15, to retain the title. Just weeks later Chun would make his second defense, blasting out Diego De Villa in 155 seconds. Chun was physically maturing as a champion and with the championship belief he was starting to believe in his power, as he showed again when he made his third defense and stopped Felix Marquez in 6. His run of stoppages would continue as he took out William Develos in 7 rounds then countryman Kwang Koo Park in the 15th round.
 
Having scored 5 defenses, all by stoppage, Chun looked impressive, at leats on paper. Sadly looking back his competition during that run, for the most part, was limited. Muangsurin was a decent fighter, and would go on to claim an OPBF title later on, as was Develos, who had previously held an OPBF title, but De Villa was a journeyman, Marquez finished with a 5-8 record and Park would retire with a record of 4-5.
 
In his 6th defense Chun would travel over to Indonesia to take on Elly Pical, an Indonesian and OPBF champion. Chun would bring the pressure to Pical in front of a huge Indonesian audience, who were there to cheer on their man. The bout would be a physical one, though sadly for Chun it ended with the Korean being taken out by a monstrous left hook from Pical. The shot forced the bout to be stopped whilst the Indonesian fans celebrated their new hero, with Pical becoming the first Indonesian world champion due to this win.
 
Sadly for Chun a return to Indonesia 16 months after his title loss to Pical resulted in another defeat, this time to Little Holmes. 
 
A couple of years later Chun would attempt a comeback. He would beat Kyong Mo Chung in the first bout of his comeback, in Busan, before finishing his career with a 7th round knockout loss to Hae Il Kim, who was reportedly making his debut. That loss would be it for Chun who retired with a record of 20-4-3 (11), and a 6-1 (6) record in world title fights, his last fight came when he was just 25, and as with many Koreans of the time he had a short, but impactful career.
 
Like many Koran's his era he was an aggressive, action fighter, pressing forward, letting his hands go and trying to win bouts on his will, power and determination. Although quite crude he did seem be a solid fighter until losing to Pical, and essentially lose his aura, and confidence.
 
Sadly quality, full fight footage of Chun is hard to come by, but there are clips, and highlights of him, and he really does look incredibly exciting. His work rate is impressive and it's little wonder that he had his run of stoppages. It is however a shame he ran into the hard hitting Pical when there was certainly other options out there for him
 
From what we understand Chun did stay involved in boxing for a big after his final fight, but it's not totally clear what he's been doing in recent years.