Alexander James Gong (October 14, 1970 – August 1, 2003) was an American

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterise ...

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gener ...

Early life

Gong was born and raised in Boston. When he was 8, Alex Gong's parents went through an acrimonious divorce; during a dispute over custody, his father, James Gong, took the boy to India and Tibet, leaving him in the care of Children's Village, a boarding school in

Dharamsala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...

. Alex did not see his mother for nearly three years; when he was 11, he turned up at the United States embassy in

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, Nepal. At the time, he could not find his mother, Nita, because she had returned to using her maiden name (Tomaszewski) and was living in New Hampshire. Gong stated in 2001 his interest in martial arts started when he was 5, crediting "those old Bruce Lee films". He did not speak much about his years in Dharamsala except to remark that he fought a lot as a kid. Gong dropped out of high school, but later enrolled at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

and earned a business degree. In 1989, Gong met

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championsh ...

at the

Fresno Yosemite International Airport Fresno Yosemite International Airport is a joint military/public airport in Fresno, California, United States. It is the primary commercial airport for the San Joaquin Valley and three national parks: Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. It o ...

, where Gong was working at a ticket counter. Gong took up Muay Thai in 1993. Prior to that, Gong had trained in tai chi chuan,

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in a ...

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. ...

karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

, and

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

Career

Gong was a world champion of

ISKA The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is one of the major international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the Unite ...

World

Junior middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA an ...

class. He won his world title in 1999. He defended his title on August 5, 2000. Gong also held a 2-0-0 record in

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

including wins over

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and

Duane Ludwig Duane Paul Ludwig (born August 4, 1978) is an American mixed martial arts coach, retired professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Ludwig formerly held the unofficial fastest knockout record in the UFC after his win against Jonathan Goul ...

. Gong was featured as a fighter in an episode of ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both this series and that film starring Chuck Norris as a member of the T ...

'' entitled "Legends", alongside notable fighters Joe Lewis, Bill Wallace, Howard Jackson, Don Wilson, Olando Rivera,

Jean-Claude Leuyer Jean-Claude Leuyer (born November 30, 1970), or simply Jean Claude, is an American former heavyweight kickboxer. He was a six-time world champion, holding titles in four different organizations, and competing in sixteen world title fights. He hold ...

, and

Danny Steele Danny Steele (born 10 October 1982) is an English footballer who played in The Football League as a defender. Career Steele began his career at Millwall, where he was handed a three-month pro contract having shown excellent form for the und ...

. In addition to his fighting career, in 1996 Gong opened a branch of the Fairtex Gym at 444 Clementina in San Francisco to instruct students in Muay Thai after the Fairtex in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

at which he had initially trained went bankrupt, hiring Bunkerd Fairtex as the head trainer. When he first came to the Bay Area, he had trained in makeshift facilities. Later, in 2000, he added a second location in Daly City. The Fairtex that Gong operated in San Francisco had been recognized by the World Muay Thai Council as the top training facility in the United States. That gym regularly held amateur sparring matches as "Saturday night smokers", which Gong called "civilized war ... for the extra-adrenaline junkie."

Titles

* US Amateur Light Middleweight Champion (1995) * North American Super Welterweight Champion (1996) * Inter-Continental Super Welterweight Champion (1997) * North American Light Middleweight Champion (1998) * World Light Middleweight Champion (1999)

Kickboxing record

, - , , Win ,

, K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Preliminary USA ,

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Muay Thai Light Middleweight World Championship. , - , , Win ,

, K-1 USA Championships 2000 ,

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Muay Thai Light Middleweight World Championship. , - , , Win ,

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, Strikeforce ,

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Muay Thai Super Welterweight World Championship. , - , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

Death

On August 1, 2003, a hit and run driver crashed into Gong's parked car at approximately 4:30 PM outside the Fairtex Gym that Gong operated. Gong pursued the car on foot. After Gong caught up to the vehicle, which was stopped in traffic at Fifth and Harrison, he confronted the driver. According to a woman who was a passenger in the car, the driver told Gong "I can't stop, I'm wanted by the police, I can't stop and deal with this, I'm sorry, but I gotta go" to which Gong responded by smashing the car's window and turn signal. Witnesses say the driver shot Gong at point blank range and fled in his vehicle, turning right on Harrison.

Brian Lam Brian Lam (born May 23, 1977) is a writer, best known for his work with ''Gizmodo'', a blog focusing on technology; and ''The Wirecutter'', a recommendation website for gadgets. Early life and education Lam's parents are ethnically Chinese; h ...

, then working as an instructor at Fairtex, had followed Gong to the scene and provided CPR alongside a motorcycle police officer, but Gong was pronounced dead at the scene. The license plate of the car driven by the hit-and-run driver was publicized following Gong's death. The vehicle was found abandoned in

Millbrae Millbrae is a city located in northern San Mateo County, California, United States. To its northeast is San Francisco International Airport, San Bruno is on its northwest, and Burlingame on its southeast. It is bordered by San Andreas Lake to ...

later that night; police determined the car had been stolen in July, and was carrying a license plate stolen from another vehicle. The gym was closed after the shooting, but regulars and neighbors posted tributes. On August 4, 2003, after police received an unspecified tip, a man named a "person of interest" in the shooting was confronted at a hotel in

South San Francisco South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is colloquially known as "South City". The population was 66,105 at the 2020 census. ...

. Following a lengthy standoff with police, the man died by suicide. No one was ever charged in Gong's death.

References

External links

Obituary
in ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pap ...

''
Person of interest commits suicide
in ''

''
In Memory Of Gods Champion...Alex "F-14" Gong
1970 births 2003 deaths American male kickboxers Kickboxers from California Welterweight kickboxers Middleweight kickboxers American Muay Thai practitioners Sportspeople from San Francisco American sportspeople of Chinese descent American sportspeople of Thai descent Deaths by firearm in California Male murder victims {{kickboxing-bio-stub