Chang Jung-Koo
Courtesy of boxrec.com
Through the illustrious history of Korean boxing few stand out as highly as former WBC Light Flyweight champion Jung-Koo Chang (38-4, 17) who dominated his division through out the 1980's and was affectionately known as "The Korean Hawk" due to his stylistic similarities to Aaron "The Hawk" Pryor.
Born in the southern city of Busan in 1963 Chang never actually competed in an amateur bout before starting his professional career in 1980 when he was just 17 years old
Despite the fact Chang hadn't had any amateur success it was obvious he was a born fighter with a relentless swarming style which brought him 18 victories within 22 months.
Whilst many of Chang's early victories were against limited foes he did manage to score a pair of very notable victories stopping Alfonso Lopez (a former WBA world champion) and out pointing Amado Ursua (a former WBC world champion) as he continued to fly up the rankings.
Having been very impressive in his early career Chang was moved in to world class in just his 19th fight. Chang was matched against the very talented Panamanian Hilario Zapata who was in his second reign as the WBC Light Flyweight champion. Chang chased Zapata from pillar to post and was impressive in his big step up though was controversially denied the world title on a razor thin split decision as he suffered his first professional loss.
Born in the southern city of Busan in 1963 Chang never actually competed in an amateur bout before starting his professional career in 1980 when he was just 17 years old
Despite the fact Chang hadn't had any amateur success it was obvious he was a born fighter with a relentless swarming style which brought him 18 victories within 22 months.
Whilst many of Chang's early victories were against limited foes he did manage to score a pair of very notable victories stopping Alfonso Lopez (a former WBA world champion) and out pointing Amado Ursua (a former WBC world champion) as he continued to fly up the rankings.
Having been very impressive in his early career Chang was moved in to world class in just his 19th fight. Chang was matched against the very talented Panamanian Hilario Zapata who was in his second reign as the WBC Light Flyweight champion. Chang chased Zapata from pillar to post and was impressive in his big step up though was controversially denied the world title on a razor thin split decision as he suffered his first professional loss.
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With the first loss on his record it was obvious that Chang wanted revenge and just 3 fights later he would get a second chance at Zapata. This time things would be different. Zapata had really struggled to make the weight (taking 6 attempts to make the 108lb limit) and Chang used this to his advantage as he hammered Zapata's body draining him yet further before the referee was forced to save the dethroned champion. This would actually be Zapata's final bout at Light Flyweight before he carved out a successful career at Flyweight and was eventually retired in 1993 by Chang's countryman Sung-Kil Moon at Super Flyweight.
As the Light Flyweight champion Chang was a sensation and made a record setting 15 title defenses for the division (a record that was incidentally broken by compatriot Yuh Myung-woo) between 1983 and 1988. The first of Chang's defenses came just a few months after he had won the title as he stopped former Japanese national champion. By the and of the year he had also knocked back a challenge from German Torres (who would himself claim the title after Chang's retirement) dropping Torres twice en-route to a clear decision. Through out 1984 Change defended his title a further 3 times with all 3 of those defenses being impressive. The first came against former Muay Thai great Sot Chitalada (who would later become a 2-time WBC Flyweight champion), the second came against former WBA champion Katsuo Tokashiki and the third came against the then Japanese national champion Tadashi Kuramochi. A 4 month break at the beginning of 1985 lead to Chang facing German Torres for a second time. This time the result was much closer as the two men fought punch for punch in a thoroughly enjoyable bout between a determined challenger a champion who refused to lose. It was this second bout with Torres that saw Chang coming his closest to losing his belt in the ring. This was followed with decision victories over Francisco Montiel and Jorge Cano as Chang managed to keep a hold of his title despite very spirited challenges. Chang would add 3 more defenses to his reign in 1986 as he defeated nemesis German Torres for a third time, Francisco Montiel for a second time and stopped Japanese challenger Hideyuki Ohashi (who later went on to become a WBA and WBC Minimumweight champion). The champion would retain his level of activity as he again added 3 more defenses to his record in 1987 as he stopped Efren Pinto and Agustin Garcia (which tied the then division record of 13 title defenses) before out pointing Isidro Perez (a future WBO Flyweight champion) in one of the toughest bouts of his career. The Perez bout not only saw Chang dropped in the opening round but also staggered badly in the final round as his hard career seemed to be catching up with him. It was obvious that Chang's career was catching up to him and he was starting to appear less and less like the fighter who had been such an amazing to watch champion. Chang's final defense came in 1988 as he traveled to Japan and fought away from home for the first time. In the fabled Korakuen Hall Chang would face former victim Hideyuki Ohashi. Ohashi was dropped numerous times but showed his Japanese warrior spirit as he fought back before eventually being stopped in the 8th round. Prior to the fight Chang had announced his intentions to retire from the sport following the bout and it felt as though it was a retirement bout with Chang putting on a show for the fans who had followed his illustrious career. The second victory over Ohashi would have been a fitting way for Chang to have walked away from the sport. At the time he had an incredible record of 36-1 (16), he had won 16 successive world title bouts including 15 defenses and beaten a genuine who's who of the lower division's at the time. His style had made him a huge icon in Korea and his resume had seen him become a staple of the Ring Magazine rankings throughout much of the 1980's (he was the first Korean to be honoured in such a way). Sadly boxing doesn't very often do fitting endings and although Chang relinquished his title and officially retired in 1988 it wasn't long before money issues forced him back in to the ring and just 14 months after Chang had beaten Ohashi he returned to action. On his return to the ring Chang out pointed Armando Velasco before going up against Humberto Gonzalez for the WBC Light Flyweight title that Chang had once made his own. Gonzalez had claimed the belt less than 6 months earlier as he out pointed South Korean Yul-Woo Lee and Chang was his first challenger. Despite only being 27 Chang didn't look like the fighter he had once been, he was still aggressive, tough and fun but he lacked some of the sharpness that had made him so fearsome. This lack of sharpness helped Gonzalez to land his crisp counters from a southpaw stance that seemed to befuddle the Korean great who suffered just his second professional loss. Chang would continue with his comeback and score a stoppage over Ric Siodora in 1990 in a Flyweight bout. The victory over Sidora saw Chang beginning to campaign at Flyweight and in his next fight he took on former opponent Sot Chitalada who was the then reigning WBC champion at Flyweight. Chang appeared to outwork Chitlada though was denied a victory with a highly controversial majority decision going against him. Following the close loss to Chitalada, Chang would fight just once more putting in a stirring performance against Muangchai Kittikasem who had taken the WBC title from Chitalada. Chang would drop Kittikasem 3 times in the bout but was stopped (for the first and only time in his career) with less than 30 seconds of the bout left. The fight, one of the most memorable Light Flyweight title bouts in history was a sad way for Chang to go out, though it was proof, if any was still needed that he was a faded fighter. Since retiring (for a second time) following the loss to Kittikasem, Chang has remained in boxing and was a mentor for the tragic Yo Sam Choi. In 2010 he became the first Korean fighter to have been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame adding further to his legacy as one of the sports greats. Whilst Chang may never be fully accepted as a great in the US or Europe his place amongst the greats is certainly recognised by the hardcore fans of the sport who are happy to accept him as one of the best fighters and one of the most exciting. Sadly the fact he fought in the lower weights and fought his entire career in Asia is held against him by some, but fans of the sport only need to look at the fighters he faced, and beat, to know just how good he was. The video below shows Chang's victory over Chitalada from 1984. Although Chitalada entered the bout with just a 4-0 record he was nearing his prime and would claim the WBC, Ring and Lineal Flyweight titles just 7 months later with a decision over Gabriel Bernal. The video is thanks to the fabulous FleaBOXING who we again need to thank massively for uploading the footage. |
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