In-Jin Chi vs Michael Brodie

In a somewhat cruel turn of events, the result changed after the fighters had left the ring. In Jin Chi had been announced as the winner of the vacant World Boxing Council featherweight title, but a correction to the scoring turned his victory into a majority draw. The alteration followed twelve hard rounds against Michael Brodie at Manchester’s MEN Arena on 18 October 2003. It left the championship unclaimed and made a disputed point deduction in the opening round as consequential as any punch thrown that night.

The trouble began within seconds of the first bell. The men clashed heads as Brodie ducked forward. Chi was shaken by the contact, while Brodie suffered a cut on the top of his head that bled through much of the contest. Referee Daniel Van de Wiele ruled the clash accidental, yet deducted a point from Brodie under the rules applied to the bout. Accounts afterwards questioned how clearly the deduction had been signalled. Brodie, the Manchester boxer, had entered with the greater reputation for movement and combination punching. Chi, from South Korea, brought steady pressure and considerable strength. The cut made it harder for Brodie to keep the fight at the distance he preferred.

Chi established his threat in the second round. He caught Brodie with heavy right hands and put him down, then attacked as the local man rose. Brodie survived the follow-up and answered in the third, driving Chi towards the ropes and returning fire. Thereafter the contest was fought largely at close quarters. Chi pressed forward with hooks and head punches, while Brodie met him with combinations and a sustained attack to the body. Neither man held control for long: Brodie could interrupt Chi’s advance, but could seldom keep him away for a full round.

Brodie had his best spell through the middle of the fight. His punches downstairs troubled Chi and gave him a way to score when exchanges to the head favoured the stronger visitor. Chi absorbed the work and continued to force Brodie back with hooks of his own. The pace showed on Brodie’s face. Blood still came from the head wound, and swelling around both eyes worsened as the rounds passed. Chi, too, took clean punches, particularly when Brodie stood his ground and put several together. The early knockdown remained an advantage for the Korean, but Brodie’s recovery had made the decision a close one.

At the final bell, Brodie’s eyes were badly swollen, and his head was still bleeding. The crowd, reported at about 3,000, stood for both fighters. After a long wait, Chi was declared the majority decision winner. That announcement did not stand. WBC president José Sulaimán said that two points, rather than one, had mistakenly been taken from Brodie on one card when the first-round penalty was entered. Correcting it produced the official scores: Francisco Vázquez Marcos and Hubert Minn each had it 113–113, while Nobuaki Uratani scored it 114–112 for Chi. Brodie had already left the arena when the decision became a draw.

The correction spared Brodie a second defeat in a world title contest; he had previously lost a close decision to Willie Jorrín at super bantamweight. It gave Chi no title despite his knockdown and the original announcement in his favour. He had already proved his durability by going the distance with Erik Morales, the champion whose departure from the division had left this belt vacant. In Manchester, Chi and Brodie each did enough to claim substantial portions of the fight. The official verdict settled their records, but left the championship, and the argument over the first round, for another meeting.

I can see why Manchester got behind Michael Brodie. He had lost a disputed world title decision to Willie Jorrín and had worked his way back for another chance. He was the smoother boxer here, but In Jin Chi had already shown against Erik Morales that he could take punishment and keep coming. That made him a serious opponent, no matter how much the crowd wanted Brodie to win.

The accidental clash of heads in the opening seconds changed Brodie’s fight. With blood coming from the top of his head, he struggled to maintain distance, and Chi put him down with right hands in the second. Brodie’s response was excellent: he went to the body, backed Chi up at times and made the middle rounds competitive. But Chi kept landing the heavier head shots. I thought his knockdown and sustained pressure earned him a narrow win.

What I cannot accept is how the result was handled. Chi was announced as champion, then a scoring correction changed the verdict to a draw after the fighters had left the ring. Both men deserved a clear accounting after that effort. The officials failed them.