2012 - 30 year anniversary of Boxing's greatest tragedy!!

Not sure you Brits had the pleasure or misfortune of seeing one of the greatest wars in the history of the game between Mancini and Duk koo Kim.....

Great fight which lead to great tragedy.....

Before the fight the Challenger was being interviewed by journalists in his hotel room when one of the journalists saw writing on the bedside lampshade...."The title or death" or words to that extent the challenger had written ..How prophetic those words would soon become..

What the Korean lacked in record or experience he made up for in determination and heart.....He'd only just become a father too as memory recalls....

For the first half of the fight it was a yoyo battle with both guys taking turns getting on top...however in the sapping heat Mancini started to take over past the half way mark...only for Kim to rally everytime Richard Green looked to intervine.....

A wonderful fight ended up with Kim knocked unconscious in the 14th round...never to regain consciousness....

In the subsequent months Richard Green the referee would become depressed about not stopping the fight earlier and kill himself.....Kim's mother would drink bleach and kill herself in a most horrific way!! Mancini would contemplate retirement and suffer depression himself looking to his faith to bring him round....

Years later Mancini would travel to Korea to attend a Kim ceremony and a statue of Kim can be found in his hometown!!

Mancini's brother was killed on Valentine's day in an assault years earlier and to this day Mancini say's February 14th is dedicated to his brother and November 23 is dedicated to Kim...

Certainly that afternoon in Vegas is probably Boxing's worst tragedy and one I won't forget!!

Pay homage by checking the fight out on youtube............

Heads up to two wonderful warriors!!! The Kim family and a sensitive and underrated referee....

Great article, Truss, and a fine tribute to all concerned with that fight.

An absolutely brutal fight, but still, I think it's an incredibly hard one to watch; the sight of Kim somehow trying to drag himself to his feet again to continue, after being floored in the fourteenth, is one of the most harrowing things I've ever seen in boxing.

It was like the 14th round of the original Rocky movie wasn't it..very moving..

The kid just wouldn't give up........

Also the pre-cursor to 12 rounds for the WBC....

Watched that quite recently and only found out after looking for more fights for him what happened. I had initially been looking through mancini fights and like Chris found that last bit especially difficult to watch but my admiration kept on growing round after round. Easy to forget sometimes just how much some people give to the sport and how much it can affect not just them but familie, opponents, and all else involved. Reminded me of when Eubank was psyched out by Collins - how terrified he was of hurting/maiming him or Benns descent towards suicide attempts and especially that "rather him than me" quote with that haunted look on his face.

I'm glad kims courage was honoured in his hometown and by Mancini.

I've seen the fight once. Can't watch it again knowing what happened. Absolutely great fight between two warriors and more importantly, 2 wonderful human beings.

Not seen it but well done on the post.

It was a pleasure writing it....

Everything that is both good and bad about Boxing encompassed in one fight....

For what it's worth Green was an idol of richard Steele who used to visit him regularly...

Steele commented on the effect the fight had on Green.. before he hung himself in his garage in Vegas!!

Tragic....

Certainly an official who had the fighters best interests at heart!!

Can't really see what he did wrong If I'm honest!!

Now that I know the aftermath, I don't really want to watch it, seeing every punch doing that much more damage.

You should watch it...and applaud the warrior spirit.....

A huge underdog producing the fight of his life..quite literally!!

The body dies...but the spirit lives forever!!

One of the greatest shows of heart ever with the most heartbreaking consequences.

Didn't realise it was 30 years. Top notch article, Truss. Like Benn v Mclellan and Eubank v Watson, I've only seen it once and won't watch it again but a great fight with tragic consequences.

Anyone remember Mancini and Arturo Frias? A one round war if ever there was one.

Ray was total value for money.

Wow. What an epic fight. Great article Truss.