In Jin Chi

In Jin Chi is a South Korean former professional boxer who competed at bantamweight, super bantamweight and featherweight. Born in Seoul on 18 July 1973, he fought from an orthodox stance and became a two-time World Boxing Council featherweight champion. His professional record stands at 31 wins, three losses and one draw, with 18 wins by knockout. None of his three defeats came inside the distance.

Chi’s career began with a four-round loss to Park Tae Sun in Seoul on 20 November 1991. He then went unbeaten in his next 24 contests. During those years he won a South Korean title at super bantamweight and, in April 1995, beat Jess Maca over twelve rounds for the vacant Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation bantamweight title. His progress was steady rather than sudden. By the end of 2000, he had established a record of 24 wins and one defeat, earning a challenge against Erik Morales for the WBC featherweight championship.

That challenge took Chi to Los Angeles in July 2001. Morales won a unanimous decision after twelve rounds, but Chi’s willingness to advance and exchange punches made him a difficult opponent for the champion. He returned to South Korea and rebuilt his position with victories that included a stoppage of Samuel Duran. His next world title opportunity came against Michael Brodie in Manchester in October 2003. Chi knocked Brodie down in the second round, but the local fighter recovered and had considerable success with punches to the body. Chi was initially announced as the winner. A correction to the scoring later changed the result to a majority draw, leaving the title vacant.

The men met again at the same Manchester arena in April 2004. This time Chi took the decision out of the judges’ hands, knocking Brodie out in the seventh round to win the WBC featherweight title. He defended it twice in South Korea, stopping Eiichi Sugama in the tenth round in July 2004 and outpointing Tommy Browne in January 2005. Chi’s strength lay in his persistence. He worked forward, accepted exchanges and kept opponents under pressure, though the Brodie fights showed that his approach could leave room for a skilful boxer to score.

Chi lost the championship to Takashi Koshimoto by split decision in Japan in January 2006. Koshimoto subsequently lost the belt to Rodolfo López, giving Chi a chance to recover it in Seoul that December. López made Chi work from the ropes early, but Chi increased his output as the contest went on and won a unanimous decision. The judges scored it 117–111, 116–112 and 116–113. It was Chi’s final professional boxing match. He finished as champion for a second time.

In 2007, Chi relinquished the WBC title and retired from boxing to pursue a career in K–1 kickboxing. He spoke publicly at the time about the difficulty of earning a living from boxing in South Korea and providing for his family. He won his kickboxing debut against Ryuji Kajiwara in Seoul in February 2008, then lost a second recorded kickboxing contest in 2009. He later ran a boxing club and remained involved in developing fighters. His boxing career is chiefly marked by the two contests with Brodie, his demanding challenge to Morales, and the recovery of a world title after losing it abroad.