Moon Sung-kil (; born July 20, 1963) is a South Korean former professional boxer who competed from 1987 to 1993. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight title from 1988 to 1989 and the World Boxing Council (WBC) super-flyweight title from 1990 to 1993. His name is also rendered Sung Kil Moon.
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.
Results 1984 Summer OlympicsEventRoundResultOpponentScoreBantamweight FirstbyeSecondWin John HylandKO 3ThirdWin Robert ShannonRSC 3QuarterfinalLoss Pedro NolascoRSC 1 1985 Boxing World CupEventRoundResultOpponentScoreBantamweight QuarterfinalWin Bernard PriceKO 1SemifinalWin Ljubiša SimićRSC 2FinalWin José RodríguezKO 2 1986 World ChampionshipsEventRoundResultOpponentScoreBantamweight FirstWin Fabrizio CappaiKO 1SecondWin Johnny Vasquez5–0QuarterfinalWin Aleksandar HristovRSC 2SemifinalWin Arnaldo Mesa3–2FinalWin Rene Breitbarth3–2
Professional 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 faced off again in a rematch, with Galaxy securing a unanimous decision victory over 12 rounds to reclaim his WBA bantamweight title. Moon suffered two knockdowns in the 11th round, ultimately 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 former 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).
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes22Loss20–2José Luis BuenoSD12Nov 13, 1993 21Win20–1Carlos SalazarSD12Jul 3, 1993 20Win19–1Hilario ZapataTKO1 (12), Feb 27, 1993 19Win18–1Greg RichardsonMD12Oct 31, 1992 18Win17–1Armando SalazarTKO8 (12), Jul 4, 1992 17Win16–1Torsak PongsupaTKO6 (12), Dec 22, 1991 16Win15–1Ernesto FordKO5 (12), Jul 20, 1991 15Win14–1Nana KonaduTKO4 (12), Mar 16, 1991 14Win13–1Kenji MatsumuraTD5 (12), Oct 20, 1990 13Win12–1Gilberto RománRTD8 (12), Jun 9, 1990 12Win11–1Nana KonaduTD9 (12)Jan 20, 1990 11Win10–1 Romeo OpriasaKO5 (10), Nov 19, 1989 10Loss9–1 Kaokor GalaxyUD12Jul 9, 1989 9Win9–0 Chiaki KobayashiTKO5 (12), Feb 19, 1989 8Win8–0 Edgar MonserratTKO7 (12), Nov 17, 1988 7Win7–0 Kaokor GalaxyTD6 (12), Aug 14, 1988 6Win6–0 Oky PretusKO4 (10), Jun 5, 1988 5Win5–0 Tony PruittKO3 (10), Feb 21, 1988 4Win4–0 Tepratum EakchatchingchaiKO2 (10), Dec 11, 1987 3Win3–0 Constancio DanglaKO3 (10), Aug 16, 1987 2Win2–0 Singnoi SingkrungthonKO3 (10), May 17, 1987 1Win1–0 Ric BajelotKO4 (8), Mar 8, 1987
Personal life He spent six months in prison for molesting a woman.
See also List of super-flyweight boxing champions List of bantamweight boxing champions
References
External links
Moon Sung-kil - CBZ Profile