Lee Seung-hoon (; born July 26, 1960) is a South Korean former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed from 1977 to 1989.

Pro career

Lee early received first two losses to former WBC Light Flyweight champion Netrnoi Sor Vorasingh and future WBA Light Flyweight champion

Kim Hwan-jin Kim Hwan-jin (born June 22, 1955, in South Korea) is a South Korean former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1983. He won the World Boxing Association light flyweight title in 1981. Professional career Kim turned professional in 197 ...

after making his pro debut in 1977. However, Lee won the Korean

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

title in 1978 and beat future WBC Flyweight champion

Prudencio Cardona Prudencio Cardona (December 22, 1951 – August 4, 2019) was a Colombian professional boxer who was world flyweight champion. He represented his native country at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. He was the older brother of form ...

in a non-title bout by decision in 1979. In 1980, he moved up in weight to

super flyweight Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . History The first title match in this division was in 1980, when the World Boxing Council responded to pressure from A ...

but unsuccessfully challenged

Rafael Orono Jesus Rafael Orono (born August 30, 1958) is a former super flyweight boxing champion from Venezuela. Amateur career Born in Patono, Sucre, Orono began as an amateur and compiled a record of 49 wins and 8 losses. Amateur highlights *Central Ame ...

for the vacant WBC

Super Flyweight Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . History The first title match in this division was in 1980, when the World Boxing Council responded to pressure from A ...

title in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, losing by a highly controversial split decision. In 1981, Lee moved up to

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

after beating former WBC Light Flyweight champion

Kim Sung-jun Kim Sung-Jun (; June 3, 1953 – February 3, 1989) was a boxer from South Korea. Professional career In January, 1978, he won the Orient and Pacific Boxing Federation light flyweight title. In September, 1978, Kim became the WBC light flywei ...

, and challenged

Lupe Pintor José Guadalupe Pintor Guzmán (born April 13, 1955), better known as Lupe Pintor, is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1974 to 1995. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC bantamweight title fro ...

for the WBC

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

title in Los Angeles, United States on June 3, 1982. He had an impressive performance against the Mexican hard puncher, knocking down Pintor in the fifth round, but eventually lost via stoppage in the eleventh round. Following the loss to Pintor, Lee moved up in weight again to

super bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanct ...

. At super bantamweight, he defeated former WBA Super Bantamweight champion Ricardo Cardona via sixth round KO, and challenged

Victor Callejas Victor Callejas (born November 12, 1960) is a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican former boxing, boxer who was world Junior Featherweight champion. Early history Callejas compiled a record of 36 wins and 4 defeats as an amateur boxer, and in 1979, he deci ...

for the WBA

Super Bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanct ...

title in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

on February 2, 1985. Lee got dropped in round two by Callejas and lost by a 15-rounds unanimous decision to him. Lee was given another chance to fight for the world title when in December 1986, IBF Super Bantamweight champion

Kim Ji-won Kim Ji-won (; born October 19, 1992) is a South Korean actress. She gained recognition through her roles in Korean drama, television series ''The Heirs'' (2013) and ''Descendants of the Sun'' (2016), before taking on leading roles in ''Fight f ...

announced his retirement as a professional boxer. On January 18, 1987, Lee faced OPBF champion Prayurasak Muangsurin for the vacant IBF

title, and became the champion via a ninth round stoppage. Although he made three successful defenses of his title including points wins over future IBF Super Bantamweight champion Jose Sanabria, Lee was forced to vacate his title in 1988 when South Korea discontinued staging IBF title fights. After beating former WBA Bantamweight champion Julian Solís in March 1988, Lee seized his last chance for the world title, challenging two-division world champion and future hall of famer

Daniel Zaragoza Daniel Zaragoza (born December 11, 1957) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1997. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight title in 1985 and the WBC super ...

for the WBC

title in

Yeosu Yeosu, formerly romanized as Yosu, is a coastal city located on the southern shore of South Korea. With a population of 268,823, Yeosu is the second largest city in South Jeolla Province. In 1998, the Old Yeosu City, Yeocheon City and Yeocheon C ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

on May 29, 1988. The fight ended in a draw by the scores of 114-114, 114-112 (Lee) and 115-113 (Zaragoza). In 1989, Lee hung up his boxing gloves for good and began his career as a boxing promoter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Seung-hoon 1960 births Bantamweight boxers Super-bantamweight boxers Super-flyweight boxers International Boxing Federation champions World super-bantamweight boxing champions Living people South Korean male boxers Sportspeople from Cheongju 20th-century South Korean sportsmen