Jung Koo Chang-Myung Yuh Woo.

Yuh was considered by the general public in Korea at the time to have been a clear level or two below Chang, so there wasn't much of a push for the fight to happen. Yuh was a very good fighter, but I tend to agree he'd have been a little lax in all categories to have dealt with Chang, provided Chang came in shape.

 

I think Yuh is a bit under appreciated, and while I would be inclined to favor Chang, I think the lesser known of the two was still solid enough as a fighter to make it competive, and probably pretty close on the cards.

 

Yeah, Yuh wasn't considered on par with Chang(right or wrong), an opinion likely excacerbated by Chang's well known dominance over Yuh and Kwang-Sun Kim in gym wars...not that i would give relevance to that in a proper bout)and his rise coincided with Chang's premature decline.Add in the Korean boxing culture was more nationalistic and favoured having more champs rather than domestic showdowns.

 

The main reason was that Yuh fought for the MBC network whereas Chang fought elsewhere. It would have been difficult to make I imagine.

I'm not convinced about these "level or two above" talks. I'd like to see a source confirming this.

 

I've read articles back in the day that said as much. Was actually just looking for them but haven't stumbled across anything yet. I'll get back.

 

When asked, Chang gave the different Network excuse. I'd have thought there would have been a demand for it, even if Chang would go into the fight as a heavy favorite. Yuh was terrific, an undefeated fighter with many, many defenses under his belt.

I believe you, though.

 

I know. I've read that interview as well. Then again I doubt he was going to say "Well, I was just a lot better than Yuh, and it wouldn't have been much of a fight, or so was the popular opinion in my day".

 

Point taken.

I think it would have been a hell of a fight. Styles make fights, and Yuh isn't easily discouraged and was never knocked down in his entire career from my knowledge.

15 rounds of back and forth action.

 

Incidentally Soo-Hwan Hong is probably the most famous of all the Korean fighters.Hong vs Carrasquilla and the Zamora fights being among the most well known bouts.

 

Q: At what age did you get interested in the sport?

Jung-Koo Chang: When I was twelve years old, I saw a boxing program on T.V. And got curious about boxing. So, I went to a gymnasium and started learning the sport.

Q: Who were your boxing hero’s as a youngster?

JKC: Actually, it was Hyun Chi Kim who was challenging WBA champion Ben Villaflor in Manila. It was televised in Korea. Kim didn’t win, but it was a split decision and his performance inspired me.

Q: How about Korea’s first world champions like Ki Soo Kim and Soo Hwan Hong?

JKC: Both boxers are great, but Soo Hwan Hong is still very popular in Korea. He is a singer now with his wife and his younger brother is too. (Ki Soo Kim, Korea’s first world champ, died in 1997).

Q: At the time you were champion, you had a rival co-champion in the same weight class, WBA champion Myung Woo Yuh. (Chang reigned as WBC champion at Light Flyweight from 1983-88, and Yuh from 1985-91, in his first reign). Many fans wondered if you two would ever unify the title in a Korean mega-fight. How often was that discussed and did it ever come close to happening?

JKC: The big problem was that I was contracted to KBS network and he was with MBC, both rival networks. That made it very difficult to arrange. I’m very sorry about that because if it was made, it would have been a huge boom to Korean boxing.

 

Thank you Lester. Money will do that. Would have been a fascinating fight.

 

Thanks Lester, really appreciate it :good If anyone can point me in the direction of some contemporary stuff on Chang I'd really appreciate it, newspaperatchive doesn't seem to have all that much but only scanned it admittedly.

I was gonna' start a thread: what does Yuh do better than Chang?

Let's just bring that discussion here instead.

 

Prime Chang beats Yuh - too fast, too good.

Sloppy/nearing the end of the reign/past-prime Chang may very well lose to always disciplined/very good workrate/good body punching Yuh.

 

Body punching.