Jong Man Kim: Carrying on the Legacy
John Lee Dec 19, 2007
This year marked the 25th anniversary of the tragic passing of
South Korean boxer Duk Koo Kim, who died from blood clots sustained
during his harrowing fight with Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini.
As in any unfortunate passing, people try to remember the life that was lived rather than the death itself. Such has been the case in South Korea, where Kim's story has been celebrated, if tearfully, as one man's insurmountable spirit.
Fast forward to 2007 and Kim's legacy still lives on -- not in
boxing but in MMA -- through Korean featherweight Jong Man Kim (Pictures).
"I want to fight like Duk Koo Kim, with all my heart," Jong Man Kim (Pictures) said. "I want to fight an exciting fight and show that Korean fighters are strong and skilled. I want to show the world that Korea has more to offer than just Hong Man Choi (Pictures)."
"I've been working on my boxing for the past three years with Duk Koo Kim's old boxing trainer, and it's finally starting to show," said Kim, who shares no relation to the slain boxer.
The time Kim has invested in developing his hands paid dividends Oct. 8 in his milestone split decision over highly regarded Japanese featherweight Hatsu Hioki (Pictures).
"We watched a lot of tape on Hioki and noticed he likes to strike from the outside," Kim said. "Our game plan was to get inside and strike."
Kim's striking is not defined by economy of movement; instead, he likes to swing back and generate enough momentum to create a violent impact.
In the Hioki bout, Kim (3-2-1, 1 NC) rushed in at the rangy Japanese fighter with a winging left hook-right straight combination that crumpled a bleary-eyed dazed Hioki on the canvas in the first round. The Korean dropped Hioki again with a wild, lunging left hook in the final seconds of the third.
The win over Hioki -- in front of a partial crowd in the Japanese fighter's hometown of Nagoya -- was a feat in itself, but it will be remembered more for something else. With the victory, Kim became the first Korean MMA fighter to be ranked internationally when he climbed into the Sherdog.com featherweight poll.
"Someone actually told me about [being ranked]," Kim said. "I went online to look, and there I was. I couldn't believe my eyes. That's when I realized I finally made it."
Kim has been around since MMA's inception in South Korea roughly four years ago, and the trajectory of his career mirrors the development of Korean MMA.
He floundered early in part because he did not have the appropriate skill set, but more importantly because at the outset, Korean MMA did not have any weight distinctions, much like in the United States.
As a result, he was forced to fight against much heavier fighters, including welterweights and even heavyweights.
"When I first started out, the only thing I tried to do was to take the other guy down and armbar him," said Kim, who normally walks around 152 pounds.
At Spirit MC 1, Korean heavyweight Junggyu Choi (Pictures) submitted the green and diminutive Kim with a standard submission.
"I took him down as I planned, but then all of a sudden I found myself blacking out," Kim said. "I later found out the submission was a triangle choke."
Since then, he has honed his skills at Korea Top Team, a solid gym headed by a former Olympic-level wrestling staff. Also, with the rising popularity of the lightweight division in 2005, Kim found a weight class more suited to his size.
In the 2005 HERO'S Korea opener, Kim faced off against a game Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures), who is No. 4 in Sherdog's bantamweight rankings but was fighting as a lightweight at the time.
After a draining first round with Yamamoto controlling his back, Kim turned things around in the second, posturing up and firing shots from inside Yamamoto's guard. In a confusing moment, Yamamoto looked up and said something to the referee, but Kim simultaneously landed a hard hammerfist that stunned Yamamoto.
Kim could be seen apologizing, but the referee goaded him to continue, at which point Kim bludgeoned Yamamoto with repeated hammerfists. The initial blow rendered Yamamoto unconscious, the force of it popping his mouthpiece halfway out, and the ensuing blow violently pegged the mouthpiece back in. Kim landed a few more crushing bombs before the referee intervened.
The serendipitous win earned Kim a one-year contract with K-1, but his fights kept getting cancelled at the last minute and he was forced into a hiatus for more than a year.
After sitting out his contract, Kim, who by then had become a peripheral fighter, managed to get fights through the patronage of CMA KPW President Hidekazu Morooka.
Morooka is a bit of a cloak-and-dagger figure in Korea. Despite being shrouded in a veil of mystery, he has had a heavy hand in the development of Korean MMA, such as organizing a Gladiator FC event in Korea.
Among other things, Morooka's real contribution lies in the establishment of an ancillary management branch in Korea, CMA Korea, through which he has recruited various Korean prospects to Japan. At times he has also ruffled the feathers of Korea's domestic promotion, Spirit MC, which insists on retaining managerial rights. In short, you're either a CMA Korea fighter or a Spirit MC fighter; you can't be both.
While Kim is not under contract with CMA Korea, Morooka has arranged his last few bouts, including those against Masakazu Imanari (Pictures), Hatsu Hioki (Pictures) and his upcoming fight with Yoshiro Maeda (Pictures) on DEEP's Dec. 22 card.
The bout this Saturday against Maeda, who is ranked a spot higher than Kim, is a relevant one. A win could line Kim up for a rematch with DEEP featherweight champion Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) and place him a step closer to achieving his dream of bringing an international title back home.
But Kim knows that in order to cement his legacy and pursue more lucrative paydays, he needs to make the journey to the United States. His addition could create some compelling international storylines in World Extreme Cagefighting.
"I really want to go to the U.S.," he said. "I want to test myself and see how far I can go. As a first generation fighter in Korea, I want to set an example."
A frank assessment of Kim's chances in the WEC is that he will have a hard time dealing with the torrid pace and explosiveness of the fighters in the division.
But the voices of the past seem to beckon Kim to Las Vegas, where he has a legacy to carry on.
As in any unfortunate passing, people try to remember the life that was lived rather than the death itself. Such has been the case in South Korea, where Kim's story has been celebrated, if tearfully, as one man's insurmountable spirit.
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"I want to fight like Duk Koo Kim, with all my heart," Jong Man Kim (Pictures) said. "I want to fight an exciting fight and show that Korean fighters are strong and skilled. I want to show the world that Korea has more to offer than just Hong Man Choi (Pictures)."
The heavy-hitting featherweight was originally a judo-based
fighter. He has rounded out his arsenal by working with renowned
boxing trainer Yoon Gu Kim, who also molded Duk Koo Kim's close
friend, Chong Pal Park, into the 1984 IBF and 1987 WBA super
middleweight champion.
"I've been working on my boxing for the past three years with Duk Koo Kim's old boxing trainer, and it's finally starting to show," said Kim, who shares no relation to the slain boxer.
The time Kim has invested in developing his hands paid dividends Oct. 8 in his milestone split decision over highly regarded Japanese featherweight Hatsu Hioki (Pictures).
"We watched a lot of tape on Hioki and noticed he likes to strike from the outside," Kim said. "Our game plan was to get inside and strike."
Kim's striking is not defined by economy of movement; instead, he likes to swing back and generate enough momentum to create a violent impact.
In the Hioki bout, Kim (3-2-1, 1 NC) rushed in at the rangy Japanese fighter with a winging left hook-right straight combination that crumpled a bleary-eyed dazed Hioki on the canvas in the first round. The Korean dropped Hioki again with a wild, lunging left hook in the final seconds of the third.
The win over Hioki -- in front of a partial crowd in the Japanese fighter's hometown of Nagoya -- was a feat in itself, but it will be remembered more for something else. With the victory, Kim became the first Korean MMA fighter to be ranked internationally when he climbed into the Sherdog.com featherweight poll.
"Someone actually told me about [being ranked]," Kim said. "I went online to look, and there I was. I couldn't believe my eyes. That's when I realized I finally made it."
Kim has been around since MMA's inception in South Korea roughly four years ago, and the trajectory of his career mirrors the development of Korean MMA.
He floundered early in part because he did not have the appropriate skill set, but more importantly because at the outset, Korean MMA did not have any weight distinctions, much like in the United States.
As a result, he was forced to fight against much heavier fighters, including welterweights and even heavyweights.
"When I first started out, the only thing I tried to do was to take the other guy down and armbar him," said Kim, who normally walks around 152 pounds.
At Spirit MC 1, Korean heavyweight Junggyu Choi (Pictures) submitted the green and diminutive Kim with a standard submission.
"I took him down as I planned, but then all of a sudden I found myself blacking out," Kim said. "I later found out the submission was a triangle choke."
Since then, he has honed his skills at Korea Top Team, a solid gym headed by a former Olympic-level wrestling staff. Also, with the rising popularity of the lightweight division in 2005, Kim found a weight class more suited to his size.
In the 2005 HERO'S Korea opener, Kim faced off against a game Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures), who is No. 4 in Sherdog's bantamweight rankings but was fighting as a lightweight at the time.
After a draining first round with Yamamoto controlling his back, Kim turned things around in the second, posturing up and firing shots from inside Yamamoto's guard. In a confusing moment, Yamamoto looked up and said something to the referee, but Kim simultaneously landed a hard hammerfist that stunned Yamamoto.
Kim could be seen apologizing, but the referee goaded him to continue, at which point Kim bludgeoned Yamamoto with repeated hammerfists. The initial blow rendered Yamamoto unconscious, the force of it popping his mouthpiece halfway out, and the ensuing blow violently pegged the mouthpiece back in. Kim landed a few more crushing bombs before the referee intervened.
The serendipitous win earned Kim a one-year contract with K-1, but his fights kept getting cancelled at the last minute and he was forced into a hiatus for more than a year.
After sitting out his contract, Kim, who by then had become a peripheral fighter, managed to get fights through the patronage of CMA KPW President Hidekazu Morooka.
Morooka is a bit of a cloak-and-dagger figure in Korea. Despite being shrouded in a veil of mystery, he has had a heavy hand in the development of Korean MMA, such as organizing a Gladiator FC event in Korea.
Among other things, Morooka's real contribution lies in the establishment of an ancillary management branch in Korea, CMA Korea, through which he has recruited various Korean prospects to Japan. At times he has also ruffled the feathers of Korea's domestic promotion, Spirit MC, which insists on retaining managerial rights. In short, you're either a CMA Korea fighter or a Spirit MC fighter; you can't be both.
While Kim is not under contract with CMA Korea, Morooka has arranged his last few bouts, including those against Masakazu Imanari (Pictures), Hatsu Hioki (Pictures) and his upcoming fight with Yoshiro Maeda (Pictures) on DEEP's Dec. 22 card.
The bout this Saturday against Maeda, who is ranked a spot higher than Kim, is a relevant one. A win could line Kim up for a rematch with DEEP featherweight champion Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) and place him a step closer to achieving his dream of bringing an international title back home.
But Kim knows that in order to cement his legacy and pursue more lucrative paydays, he needs to make the journey to the United States. His addition could create some compelling international storylines in World Extreme Cagefighting.
"I really want to go to the U.S.," he said. "I want to test myself and see how far I can go. As a first generation fighter in Korea, I want to set an example."
A frank assessment of Kim's chances in the WEC is that he will have a hard time dealing with the torrid pace and explosiveness of the fighters in the division.
But the voices of the past seem to beckon Kim to Las Vegas, where he has a legacy to carry on.
