Saturday in South Korea, Ji-Hoon Kim scored a third-round stoppage over Roy Tua Manihuruk to capture the WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight title. After a few previous setbacks, Kim is now ready to take on tougher competition in his new campaigning division at welterweight.
Kim, fighting at Welterweight for the first time, looked strong as he dropped Manihuruk in round two from a perfect uppercut. Kim controlled the fight and ended things at 0:57 into round three when he floored Manihuruk with a double right and referee Bruce McTavish stopped the bout.
Kim, who has been a favorite of American fans due to his all action style, will now be ranked at welterweight by the WBO as his record improves to 25-9 with 19 knockouts. Manihuruk of Indonesia is now 14-8-2.
“After his Ji-Hoon’s fight with (Mauricio) Herrera we wanted him to go back and work on things,” said Banner Promotions CEO Arthur Pelullo. “He looked good at the new weight and we will now look to get him a good fight.”
