Pro Career
On 17 May 1983 the southpaw defeated Chan-Jung Chun for the Korean super bantamweight title. Four months later he fought Little Bangoyan for the vacant Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) title, capturing it with a twlve-round decision. For the next year Kim made five defenses of his OPBF title against the likes of Lito Cortez (KO 2), Rolando Navarro (PTS 12), and Fel Malatag (TKO 6).
On 3 January 1985, he fought countryman and reigning International Boxing Federation super bantamweight champion Sung-In Suh. Kim won via a tenth round stoppage. Kim would make four successful defenses of his title against future WBO featherweight champion Ruben Dario Palacios (W15, 30 March 1985), former IBF super bantamweight champions Bobby Berna (KO 4, 28 June 1985) and Sung-In Suh (KO 1, 9 October 1985), and Rudy Casicas (KO 2, 2 May 1986).
In December 1986, he retired from boxing in order to become a theatrical actor and singer, finishing with a record of 16 wins, no losses, and two ties, both ties coming from the same boxer. He would become one of the few world champions to retire undefeated.
Read more about this topic: Ji-Won Kim
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