November 13th 1982: The day that boxing changed forever

How one fight changed boxing forever

Boxing is a huge topic of debate since it’s inception, a sport based on the premise of physically hurting another person. From the outside it is easy to see why many people call for it to be banned and why many parents are reluctant to get their children involved. This is by no means an invalid opinion, the rules of boxing are still constantly under review and change. Boxers use to fight for 15 rounds for championship fights (a total of 45 minutes of fighting and 14 minutes of breaks in between rounds). This was for about 60 years but the actual date of when 15 round championship fights started is unknown. It wasn’t until the death of Kim Duk-Koo after his bout with Ray Mancini on November 13th 1982 that serious reforms were considered.

The Death of Kim Duk-Koo

So why did Kim Duk-Koo’s death change boxing forever? There were many deaths in boxing and it was known as a violent sport with the intention to do harm to another but why did this death cause so much change?

There are many reasons in fact: firstly, Kim Duk-Koo was 27 years old at the time of his death, this is obviously an extremely young age to die at. Secondly, it was following a nationally televised event with a huge 10,000 fans in attendance to witness. Thirdly, the fight itself was a brutal affair in which Kim Duk-Koo took a significant beating in the later rounds before he was knocked out with neither man backing down. Fourthly, Kim Duk-Koo's lack of prior injury or professional experience, and finally the aftermath of deaths following Kim’s.

I’m going to go into depth with the last 2 points. At the time of the Ray Mancini fight Kim was 17-1-1 in the sport, usually with boxing deaths up to that point they had occurred from fighters that had 40+ fights with multiple previous knockouts at a much later age. This made Kim a strange anomaly in which his first time being knocked out was his last. Further the aftermath to the fight was tragic, over 10,000 people witnessed Kim fall into a coma minutes after the fight followed by being scratched out of the arena. Ray Mancini (the winner of that fight) blamed himself for Kim’s death and although defended his title a few more times; he was described as “never being the same” by his boxing promoter before losing his title and retiring. Three months after the bout Kim Duk-Koo’s mum drank a bottle of pesticide committing suicide. Kim Duk-Koo's fiancé was pregnant at the time of the fight. Leaving her a single mother-to-be. Finally, the referee felt guilt after the fight as Kim as he had taken a severe beating throughout the fight. Six months later he was found dead in his North Las Vegas home, dying via a self-inflicted gunshot.

The changes that were made due to this fight

Following the publicity behind the events of this fight, the NSAC proposed lots of new changes to championship fights. Not all of them were successful, including a suggestion to increase the break between rounds from 60 seconds to 90 seconds however this was rescinded. One of the most important changes was the standing 8 count, this is where a referee could call a knockdown even if the fighter was still standing, this helps to call fights off earlier and prevent tough fighters from taking extra punishment when not necessary.

Further and more importantly there was a new medical suspension after a knockout loss where fighters were not allowed to fight for another 45 days after such. This in my eyes has been the biggest preventer for future deaths in boxing as it found that most boxing deaths occurred due to consecutive knockouts to boxers that fought frequently. This change has allowed boxers significant time to recover after a knockout and heal before their next fight. Finally, the change for championship fights from 15 rounds to 12 rounds. This reduces the overall fight time resulting in fewer punches taken per fight for boxers.

In boxing history, there has been a reported 488 deaths in the last 60 years, many of which could have been avoided if these safety measures were in place. But that day made the boxing world realise that things needed to change. The magnitude of the event along with the further deaths and consequences that followed after the fight forced change in boxing. And even tho Kim Duk-Koo died, he has had the biggest effect on changing how boxing is fought and has saved many future lives in the process. Rest in piece Kim Duk-Koo.