Kim inspired by Padilla

Korean referee Jang Sung Kim probably saw the recent comical video where Carlos (Sonny) Padilla claimed he “saved” Manny Pacquiao from losing by knockout to Nedal Hussein in Antipolo 22 years ago. It seemed like Kim was inspired to do the same in keeping countryman DK Yoo on his feet to survive six two-minute rounds with Pacquiao in Goyang, a Seoul satellite city, Sunday morning.

Kim has been a referee since 2005 and judge since 2007. Last August, he was the third man in the ring when Dong Kwan Lee stopped Filipino Roemart Sentillas in the second round of a scheduled tenner in Seoul. In 2019, Kim was a judge when Kenshiro Teraji stopped Filipino Randy Petalcorin in the fourth round of a WBC lightflyweight title bout in Yokohama. He’s no stranger to fights like Padilla was during Pacquiao’s outing in 2000. But that’s no assurance that he’ll do what’s right in the squared circle.

In Pacquiao’s exhibition, Kim ruled only one knockdown, in the sixth when he just couldn’t ignore Yoo crumpling to the canvas from a left to the head. Yoo fell four more times but Kim ruled all of them slips. Three of the four, however, were legitimate knockdowns. Kim chose to look the other way. In the fourth, Pacquiao was on a rampage and dropped Kim twice, once as the bell sounded. Kim never bargained for this kind of punishment and Pacquiao didn’t pull his punches.

Surprisingly, in the fifth, Yoo came out of his corner doing the Ali shuffle and waving his arms around like a clown. Pacquiao wasn’t distracted and advancing under Yoo’s long reach, threw deadly combinations that turned the Korean’s legs rubbery. Yoo was ready to go down when he complained of a rabbit punch, first to Kim then to the ringside officials in a clear ploy to buy some time to clear his head. At least 50 seconds went by before Kim ordered the resumption of fireworks. The scene was reminiscent of John Riel Casimero’s fight against Japan’s Ryo Akaho in Incheon last week. Akaho was under heavy fire when suddenly, he motioned he was clobbered by a punch behind the head. Referee Michiaki Someya stepped in and gave his countryman the maximum five minutes to recover. Akaho, on the verge of losing by KO even if he scored a dubious knockdown earlier in the round, said he couldn’t continue because of the alleged foul blow and Someya declared a no-contest. Under accepted boxing protocols, Casimero should’ve won by a TKO.

Unlike Someya, Kim avoided the ultimate infamy by not declaring a no-contest and to his credit, Yoo continued the fight with Pacquiao. In the sixth, Pacquiao went all out to end it. As Pacquiao rushed in, Yoo went down on all fours and Kim rightfully ruled a slip. Then, Pacquiao decked Yoo and Kim finally issued a count. Yoo got up at six. Pacquiao continued the assault and Yoo was dropped again with Kim ruling the fourth slip of the fight. If the rounds went three minutes each instead of two, there would’ve been no way for Yoo to escape a loss by knockout. The three Korean judges scored it for Pacquiao although no tallies were disclosed. The win by unanimous decision will not go into Pacquiao’s record as a pro since it was an exhibition. In a real fight, Kim would have been castigated and chastised by critics for disrespecting the integrity of the fight game. But this was an exhibition and Pacquiao was content to give the fans their money’s worth while raising funds for the homeless in Ukraine and his homeland.