Kim Ki-soo

Kim Ki-soo

Kim Ki-soo c. 1968
Personal information
Born (1939-09-17)17 September 1939
Pukchong, South Hamgyong, Korea (today in North Korea)
Died 10 June 1997(1997-06-10) (aged 57)
Seoul, South Korea
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 67 kg (148 lb)
Korean name
Hangul 김기수
Hanja 金基洙[1]
Revised Romanization Gim Gi-su
McCune–Reischauer Kim Kisu
Sport
Sport Boxing

Kim Ki-soo (17 September 1939 – 10 June 1997) was a South Korean southpaw boxer at middleweight. He was South Korea's first world boxing champion.[2]

Amateur career

Kim graduated from Kyung Hee University's College of Physical Education.[2] He competed in boxing at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, where he earned the gold medal of the welterweight division by defeating Soren Pirjanian of Iran, on points, in the final.[1] He went on to represent South Korea as a welterweight at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, where he defeated Henry Perry (Ireland) on points, but then lost to Nino Benvenuti (Italy) on points.[3]

Professional career

Kim turned professional in 1961 and captured the World, WBC, and WBA light middleweight title when he upset Nino Benvenuti by split decision in 1966. He defended the belt twice before losing it to Sandro Mazzinghi in 1968 by split decision. He retired the following year.[4]

Later life

After his retirement, Kim worked as a boxing coach. He later started his own company, and was successful in business. He died of liver cancer on 10 June 1997, at the age of 58. He was survived by his wife Jeong Ha-ja (鄭夏子), two sons, and two daughters.[2]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kim Ki-soo.
Preceded by
Nino Benvenuti
World Light Middleweight Champion
25 Jun 1966 – 26 May 1968
Succeeded by
Sandro Mazzinghi


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