Ji Hoon Kim: Contender or Pretender at Super Featherweight?

After coming off what may be his best performance in his last fight, I wondered if Ji Hoon Kim is an up and coming contender or just another pretender as Super Featherweight.

If I told you about a fighter who was 23-years old and already had five losses, you probably wouldn't be too interested. I wouldn't blame you either, as I wouldn't be to interested in hearing much more either. The case of Ji Hoon Kim is very different though, in my opinion.

Kim turned pro at 17-years old with no amateur experience and lost three of his first five fights. The losses weren't against good fighters, either. He lost against a fighter with a 1-1 record, a 1-0 record and a fighter making his debut. He then won five in a row to raise his record to 7-3 before losing two of his next three.

Sitting at 8-5, he wasn't in a good position to be a threat at the weight, but he put some wins together against the typical tomato cans and won the Korean and PABA featherweight title, before taking a step up in 2008.

It was his first fight on U.S. soil and only his second outside of his native Korea. He was fighting Koba Gogoladze (20-2), a former 1996 Olympian and two-time NABO champion as a pro. Hoon was a heavy underdog, but he went in the ring and pulled out a first round KO.

He took four more fights against soft opponents before stepping up once again vs Zolani Marali (20-2) and won the IBO Title. His next fight was the fine showing against Tyrone Harris last night on Friday Night Fights.

He has won 12 straight fights over a two-and-a half year span and has won 10 straight by knockout in that time. Overall he has won 11 of the 12 by KO and has knocked out the three best fighters he has ever faced.

It is clear that Kim has one hell of a punch and is relentless in his attack. He has also been on FNF two times and is a TV friendly fighter. He is also young at just 23 years of age and is still learning in the ring. It is clear that he is getting better with each fight he has.

The biggest problem I see for him is that he does not use his height at all. He stands at 5' 9.5'' and doesn't try to use the height at all. The fact that he has a punch may be the reason why, but it would be nice to see him use his height sometimes.

I believe Kim is on the way to being a solid contender and if he finds himself in the right place at the right time he may even be a world champion. Even if he falls short of his goals, he is a fun fighter who can pull a fight out of the fire at anytime and I hope to see him again.