Morales-Chi Fight to Test Korean Interest

Having undisputed light heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. fight in Los Angeles for the first time in his career would be good enough for most local boxing fans.

But Jones’ title defense against Julio Gonzalez at Staples Center on July 28 is not the fight many in boxing will be watching closely.

They’ll be looking at the undercard pairing of World Boxing Council featherweight champion Erik Morales against Injin Chi, the WBC’s No. 1 contender. And the interest is as much about business as it is about boxing.

In a rare stateside matchup of South Korean and Latino fighters, promoter Bob Arum is hoping the Seoul-born Chi will attract a large Korean turnout.

If he does, it could pave the way for more Korean fighters to box in the United States, and give Arum and others in boxing an opening to a market Arum said is largely untapped.

“There will be pressure on Chi to do well,” Arum said Wednesday at a news conference promoting the fight. “I don’t know if it is intensified by the presence of the Dodger pitcher Chan Ho Park. But obviously the Koreans have gone bananas for Park, both here and in Korea. He’s front-page news every day. And now here comes Chi.”

Arum has promoted title fights between Korean and Latino boxers before. In 1993 in Las Vegas, Michael Carbajal knocked out South Korean Kim Kwang-Sun in a 108-pound bout, and flyweight Melchor Cob-Castro won a unanimous decision over Kim Bon-Jun.

“It was a successful promotion,” Arum said. “They discovered that a substantial number of Koreans from Los Angeles came to Las Vegas to watch.

“In Korea, they haven’t really developed Korean fighters up to the standards to compete with the Americans and the Mexicans. And the Koreans said they were not going to send their guys over here just to get beat.”

Chi, a 10-year professional, lost his first fight but has won 24 in a row. This is his second fight outside Korea.

To help promote the fight, Morales and Chi will hold public workouts this weekend in Koreatown and East Los Angeles. They will appear Friday at the ASSI Super Market and Saturday at the Hollenbeck Youth Center.