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Chi In-jin regains featherweight title

Chi In-jin shows off his belt and trophy after winning his WBC featherweight title bout in Seoul yesterday. PHOTO: AP

South Korean challenger Chi In-jin reclaimed his WBC featherweight boxing title yesterday from Rudy Lopez with a unanimous decision against the Mexican, who was defending his title for the first time. And he did it with a broken, or fractured, finger.

WBC World No. 3 Chi, known for his titanium chin and brawling style, repeatedly fought his way off the ropes to take the bout 117-111, 116-112, 116-113, extending his record to 31-3-1, with 18 knockouts.

The South Korean's single-minded attacking style saw him up the tempo at Seoul's Chungmu Art Hall despite injuring his second finger in his left hand in the eighth. Local boxing officials said it appeared broken, and Chi was taken to a nearby hospital after the fight.

Lopez (19-3-1, 13 KOs), who looked unsteady in the final rounds, said his opponent's strength was his chief asset and this ultimately decided the bout.

"He has a lot of good conditioning. He's a very strong fighter but he has no technique," Lopez said with the help of a translator. "I lost because I didn't fight very strong in the final rounds."

Chi, who at 33 is 10 years older than Lopez, shed 11kg for the fight to weigh in at exactly 57kg.

Chi gave up the WBC title to Takashi Koshimoto of Japan in January after holding it for almost two years. Koshimoto then lost it to Lopez in July, also on his first defense, before retiring from the sport.

Yesterday marked Chi's first fight since he surrendered the title.

Lopez danced around Chi in the early rounds, picking him off with jabs and forcing him into the ropes to grind him down with body blows.

The strategy succeeded but only in wearing the Mexican out. He was wildly off-target in parts of the final round, giving more weight to Chi's left and right hooks to the head, including a clean four-punch combo midway through, as the home challenger held on for the win.
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