Full name Moon Sung-kil Name Moon Sung-kil Martial art Boxing Rated at Bantamweight Weight 54 kg | Sport Boxing Height 1.66 m Nationality South Korean Role Boxer | |
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Born July 20, 1963 (age 60) ( 1963-07-20 ) Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, South Korea Division Super flyweight, Bantamweight Similar People Chang Jung‑koo, Yuh Myung‑woo, Nana Konadu, Baek In‑chul, Park Chong‑pal | ||
Moon Sung-kil (born July 20, 1963) is a former two-division world champion boxer from South Korea. His name is also rendered Sung Kil Moon.
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Amateur career
Moon, who compiled a purported record of 219–22 (164 KO) during his amateur career, was known as a great knockout puncher of the lighter divisions. In 1982, he won the bantamweight gold medal at the Asian Games in New Delhi, knocking out Wanchai Pongsri of Thailand with one blow in the final.
In the 1984 Summer Olympics, Moon was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Pedro Nolasco via RSC in the first round due to a cut on his head after an accidental head butt.
In March 1985, Moon defeated future WBC Super Bantamweight champion Paul Banke by a third round referee stopped contest (RSC) at the USA-Korea Amateur Boxing Championships held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In November 1985, Moon won the gold medal at the Boxing World Cup, manhandling all the opponents by KO.
In 1986, Moon became the first South Korean amateur boxer to win a gold medal at the World Amateur Boxing Championships, beating future Olympic silver medalists Aleksandar Hristov and Arnaldo Mesa in the tourney.
Pro career
Moon's pro debut took place on March 8, 1987 with a first-round KO over Ric Bajelot, a fighter with 16 professional fights at the time. Moon won his first six fights by knock-out, before challenging Khaokor Galaxy for the WBA Bantamweight Title on August 14, 1988. Moon won a six-round technical decision to win the title. The fight was stopped early due to an accidental headbutt that cut Moon.
Moon would go on to make two successful defenses of his title, scoring a seventh-round KO of Edgar Omar Monserrat, and a fifth-round KO of Chiaki Kobayashi. Kobayashi, a former Japanese National Bantamweight Champion, retired after this defeat.
On July 9, 1989 Moon and Galaxy met in a rematch, this time Galaxy won a unanimous decision over 12 rounds to regain his WBA Bantamweight Title. Moon was knocked down twice in the 11th round, losing by scores of 120–109, 120–109 and 120–112.
Moon then moved down in weight. Moon scored a second-round KO over Romeo Opriasa in a tune-up bout, before challenging Nana Konadu on January 20, 1990 for the WBC and Lineal Super Flyweight Title. The fight between Moon and Konadu was a war, both fighters were knocked down several times. Moon won a ninth-round technical decision to capture the title, after once again becoming the victim of an accidental headbutt. Moon won by scores of 86–84, 86–82, and 87–84 to capture his second World Title in his second division.
Moon would go on to record nine successful title defenses, including five victories over prior or future World Champions. These victories included a ninth-round KO over former two-time WBC and Lineal Super Flyweight Champion Gilberto Roman, a fourth-round KO over Konadu in their rematch, and a first-round KO over former two-time WBC Light Flyweight and one-time WBA Flyweight Champion Hilario Zapata.
On July 3, 1993, Moon made his ninth and final successful title defense, scoring a 12-round majority decision over future IBF Super Flyweight and WBO Flyweight Champion Carlos Gabriel Salazar.
On November 13, 1993 Moon lost a split decision to Jose Luis Bueno by scores of 115–114, 112–117 and 110–118 to lose the WBC Super Flyweight Title. Sung-Kil Moon retired after this fight, finishing with professional record of 20 wins and two losses (15 by knockout).
Folk musician Mark Kozelek's current project, Sun Kil Moon, is named after Sung-Kil Moon.