On this day 13 November 1982 (Exactly 37 years ago today) WBA lightweight champion Ray Mancini beat South Korean challenger Duk Koo Kim by TKO in 14th round in Las Vegas; Kim collapsed, fell into a coma and died four days later; as a result, WBC shortened title bouts to twelve rounds; WBA and WBO followed in 1988, and IBF in 1989.
Mancini and Kim went toe-to-toe for most of the fight, which was tougher and closer than most expected.
Mancini hurt his left hand in the third round when he hit Kim with a hook to the head. The hand was badly bruised and began to swell.
Kim had a point deducted in the tenth round for holding and hitting. Mancini knocked out Kim with a right to the jaw early in the fourteenth round.
Kim suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and lapsed into a coma. After undergoing a 2½-hour operation to remove a blood clot from his brain, he was placed on a respirator to keep him breathing. Kim died on November 17, four days after the fight.
Kim’s mother, Yang Sun-Yo, flew from South Korea to Las Vegas to be with her son before he was taken off life support.
There was a memorial service held for Kim in Las Vegas before his body was flown back to South Korea. Mancini sent flowers and a telegram in which he called Kim “a brave and dignified champion who will always be in our thoughts and prayers.”
Kim’s mother committed suicide by drinking pesticide on January 29, 1983, and Richard Greene, who refereed the Mancini-Kim fight, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head on July 1, 1983.
Bob Arum, the promoter of the fight, called for the suspension of professional boxing for a few months while a blue-ribbon panel of medical experts studied the safety of fighters in the ring. He also suggested that perhaps boxers should wear headgear and gloves with more padding.
On December 9, 1982, the World Boxing Council announced that they were going to reduce the number of rounds in their championship fights from fifteen to twelve and would allow referees to issue standing eight-counts. The last fifteen-round WBC title fight would come two days later when Bobby Chacon won the super featherweight title from Rafael (Bazooka) Limon in a fight The Ring would name Fight of the Year.
Alfredo Lamazont, a WBC spokesman, said studies had shown that a number of serious injuries had occurred in the thirteenth and fourteenth rounds of recent championship fights. Jose Sulaiman, the president of the WBC, said he had presented a proposal for fewer rounds to the executive committee three years earlier, but “Kim’s death was just a call of attention to expedite the decision.” Sulaiman also said the WBC would await a medical report before deciding whether to implement another of his recommendations—increasing the rest period between rounds from sixty seconds to ninety.
Mancini called the WBC’s decision to abolish fifteen-round fights “a farce.”
Mancini later said of Kim: “He died once, and I felt I was dying every day. When you’re a fighter, you develop a respect for your opponent and I had all the respect in the world for this guy. I just wanted to win the fight. I never wanted to see him hurt. It was devastating.”
Bob Arum later said of Mancini: “He was never the same fighter. He just didn’t have the thing that made him who he was. He was never as aggressive. He never threw the punches with the reckless abandon that he used to. He was shaken to his core.”
Mancini traveled to South Korea in 2011 and met Deuk-Koo Kim’s former fiancee and son, Jiwan Kim, a dentist who never had a chance to meet his father. “It’s not your fault,” Jiwan Kim told Mancini. “You don’t need to live with guilt.”
On this day 13 October 2004(Exactly 15 years ago today) Kumasi Asante Kotoko qualified for the first African Confederation Cup final after a dramatic climax to Group A . The porcupine warriors beat Al-Hilal of Sudan 3-0, in Kumasi to finish level on 10 points with Enugu Rangers of Nigeria, who drew 0-0 against bottom-of-the-table Petro Atletico of Angola in Angola.
But Kotoko finished top of the table because of Head2Head between them and Rangers
going into the matches. Group A was a complex affair with three sides still in contention for the one spot in the two-leg final.
Enugu Rangers of Nigeria and Al-Hilal of Sudan topped the group level on nine points with Ghana’s Asante Kotoko just two points adrift.
Kotoko needed a win and a result for Petro Atletico in Angola … and that’s what happened.
Nana Arhin shot the Porcupine Warriors into the lead after just ten minutes when he got on the end of a good ball from Michael Osei.
Kotoko dominated the game from there with Charles Taylor in impeccable form but failed to score again until the 40th minute when Michael Osei added a second from a goalmouth melee.
The second half followed a similar partten with Kotoko playing all the chances and wasting them until Edmund Owusu Ansah added a third with a few minutes remaining to full time.
Enugu drew with Petro and thus the Porcupine Warriors from Ghana win the group as they beat the Nigerians 3-1 at home and lost 2-1 away.
Head-to-head records were needed to separate the Group A contenders with the possibility of Enugu finishing level on 10 points with Kotoko.
GROUP A:
P W D L GF GA Pts
Kotoko (GHA) 6 3 1 2 10 7 10
Enugu Rangers (NIG) 6 3 1 2 12 6 10
Al Hilal (SUD) 6 3 0 3 6 11 9
Petro Atletico (ANG) 6 1 2 3 5 9 5
On this day 13 October 2005(Exactly 14 years ago today) Supporters of Kumasi Asante Kotoko could not celebrate in a picnic fashion as expected of them after the team beat Berekum Arsenals 1-0 to win the GT Premier League trophy in their last match played at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.
This followed Kotoko’s unimpressive performance in the match, which the supporters had expected a high performance from the players to enable them celebrate deep into the night for the already won trophy.
Not even the penalty that was scored by substitute Aziz Ansah in the 79th minute could convince the teeming supporters who left the stadium with mixed feelings.
The presence of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Life Patron of the Club did not even spur the players to improve on their standard of play and allowed Arsenals to dictate the pace of the game to the bewilderment of the supporters.
Messrs Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister and O.B. Amoah, Deputy Minister of Education and Sports jointly presented the trophy to skipper Edmund Owusu-Ansah who intend presented it to the Asantehene.
On this day 13 October 2016(Exactly three years ago today) The Black Stars hopes of making a fourth successive appearance at the FIFA World Cup were all but dashed at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria after they lost 2-0 to the Pharaoh’s of Egypt.
The Pharaoh’s proved tactically superior to the Black Stars who dominated possession but conceded late goals in either half.
Goals Scored: Mohammed Salah (penalty) 42, Abdallah El Said 86
On this day 13 November 2017 (Exactly 2 years ago today) For the first time since 1958, Italy failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup tournament. Sweden held on to force a goalless draw in the second leg at the San Siro to defeat the Italians 1-0 on aggregate in their Russia 2018 play-off.
Despite creating the majority of the chances in the match and dominating in possession, Italy lacked the cutting edge they needed to find a goal, while Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen, captain Andreas Granqvist and Co did enough to help their nation over the line and into their first World Cup since Germany 2006.
The crowd at the San Siro of over 70,000 created an intense atmosphere which resulted in a frenetic and tense 90 minutes. Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Jakob Johansson, goalscorer in the first leg, all picked up early yellow cards, before the latter picked up a nasty-looking injury.
Antonio Candreva had the first real chance of the match when he ran on to a cut-back pass sent in by Ciro Immobile, but his shot flew just an inch over Robin Olsen’s crossbar. Olsen then made the biggest save of the half when he came off his line to make a crucial intervention from a close-range Immobile shot.
The anxiety levels went up to an entirely different level in the second half. As expected, Italy continued to dominate possession but Janne Andersson’s side were able to thwart any attacks Giampiero Ventura’s men attempted.
Alessandro Florenzi tried an audacious volley that went a foot wide of Olsen’s post, while Immobile came close at the near post but, ultimately, the Azzurri found no solutions to get back into the tie, and missed out on the world finals for the first time in 60 years
On this day 13 October 1992 (Exactly 27 years ago) Riddick Bowe won the undisputed world heavyweight boxing crown with a unanimous points decision over Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas.
On this day 13 November 1988 (Exactly 31 years ago today) Brazilian McLaren driver Ayrton Senna finished 2nd in the season ending Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide to win his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship; won title by 3 points from Alain Prost
On this day 13 November 1994(Exactly 25 years ago) Title contenders Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill famously collided on lap 35 of the season ending Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide; Schumacher wins his first F1 World Drivers Championship by 1 point from Hill
BY: George ‘Alan Green’ Mahamah
