Kyu-Chul Choi’s WBA Championship Draw: Baek Keeps the Belt
On January 30, 2000, Kyu-Chul Choi challenged WBA super-featherweight champion Jong-Kwon Baek in Pohang, South Korea. The twelve-round bout ended in a draw, allowing Baek to retain the title.
On January 30, 2000, Choi met Baek in Pohang in Baek’s first title defense. The Korean Boxing Commission’s historical record lists the 12-round contest as a draw, so Baek retained his WBA title.
Before the Baek fight, Choi’s professional record was listed as 15 wins, one loss, and one draw. The bout was a meeting between two South Korean fighters for a world championship, held at Pohang Indoor Gymnasium.
A draw in a world-title contest made Choi a notable challenger in South Korean boxing, even though the champion kept his belt.
It belongs to a 2000 title fight, not to a professional debut in 2014.
The draw with Baek meant Choi did not leave Pohang with a world title, but it also meant the champion’s first defense ended without a clear winner. The Korean Boxing Commission’s record lists all twelve rounds and the even verdict, with Baek retaining the WBA championship. Choi entered the bout with a strong record of 15 wins, one loss and one draw, so the contest was a meeting between two established Korean professionals rather than a one-sided challenger story. That domestic setting gives the fight a special place in the country’s boxing history (Korean Boxing Commission record).
The twelve-round draw on January 30, 2000 meant neither Kyu-Chul Choi nor Jong-Kwon Baek was awarded a victory. Baek retained his WBA super-featherweight championship in his first defense following his October 1999 title win against Lakva Sim. For Choi, the bout remained an unsuccessful championship challenge rather than a world-title victory. The contest took place at Pohang Indoor Gymnasium, with both fighters representing South Korea. Baek would subsequently lose the championship to Joel Casamayor, giving the draw against Choi a clear place between his title-winning triumph and the end of his reign.
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Kyu-Chul Choi, Boxing, Boxing History, Championship Results
