Lee Seung-hoon (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The ...

: 이승훈,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 李承勳; 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 bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1977 to 1989.

Pro career

Lee early received first two losses to former WBC Light Flyweight champion

Netrnoi Sor Vorasingh Netrnoi Sor Vorasingh ( th, เนตรน้อย ส.วรสิงห์; April 22, 1959, in Bua Yai District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province – December 3, 1982 in Phang Khon District, Sakon Nakhon Province) was a Thai world boxing ch ...

and future WBA Light Flyweight champion Kim Hwan-jin 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 above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of b ...

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 is the older brother of forme ...

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 boxing weight classes, 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 respond ...

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 (state), Sucre, Orono began as an amateur and compiled a record of 49 wins and 8 losses.Mike DeLisa of www ...

for the vacant WBC

Super Flyweight Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a boxing weight classes, 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 respond ...

title in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as 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 ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

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

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

after beating former WBC Light Flyweight champion

Kim Sung-jun Kim Sung-Jun (Hangul: 김성준, Hanja: 金性俊) (June 3, 1953 – February 3, 1989) was a boxer from South Korea. In January, 1978, he won the Orient and Pacific Boxing Federation light flyweight title. In September, 1978, Kim became the ...

, and challenged

Lupe Pintor José Guadalupe Pintor Guzmán (born 13 April 1955), better known as Lupe Pintor, is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1974 to 1995. He won the WBC bantamweight title in 1979 after defeating Carlos Zárate Serna, and made ...

for the WBC

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

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 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 sanctioning organizations o ...

. 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 Rican former 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 decided to turn profess ...

for the WBA

Super Bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a 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 sanctioning organizations o ...

title in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

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

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

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 Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya * Jose the Galil ...

, 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 Julian Solís (born 7 January 1957) is a former Boxing, boxer from Puerto Rico. He was born in the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan area of Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, but because of the closeness of his birthplace to Caguas, Puerto Ri ...

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 WBC bantamweight title in 1985 and the WBC super bantamweight title bet ...

for the WBC

title in

Yeosu Yeosu (; ''Yeosu-si''), historically also Yosu, and known to the Japanese as Reisui during the period when Korea was under Japanese rule, is a city located on the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula in South Jeolla Province, South Korea an ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

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 North Chungcheong Province