S. Korean boxing legends to fight on disputed island
SEOUL, South Korea - Two ageing South Korean boxing legends will stage a fight on a remote island disputed by Tokyo and Seoul, organisers said Wednesday, as diplomatic tensions mount between the Asian neighbours.
Former World Boxing Council (WBC) light flyweight champion Chang Jung-Koo, 53, will clash with former World Boxing Association (WBA) light flyweight title holder Yuh Myung-Woo -- also 53 -- on Dokdo, known as Takeshima in Japan.
The date for the event has provisionally been set for March 1 -- the day an anti-Japanese popular uprising took place in Korea in 1919.
Despite their shared nationality, age and weight the two men have never met in the ring, and their first-ever bout is the brainchild of pop singer Kim Jang-Hoon, a Dokdo activist who has previously organised several events on the islands.
Seoul and Tokyo are embroiled in rows over territory and history, with Japan recalling its ambassador in January in a dispute over wartime sex slavery.
Both Chang and Yuh are inductees into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
"Although we won't be able to show off the best moves of our heydays, we will try to give it our best effort," Yuh was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.
Yuh won the WBA light flyweight title in 1985 and defended it a whopping 17 times before hanging up his gloves in 1991.
Chang became the WBC light flyweight champion in 1983 and defended his title 15 times before announcing his first retirement in 1988. He came back to the ring a year later and competed in the flyweight division until 1991.