A press conference was held yesterday at Seoul Club to announce the start of Annihilation, the first ever boxing and mixed martial arts collaboration in South Korea.
Annihilation is a joint venture between local MMA promotion Top Fighting Championship (TFC) and The Apex Predators (TAP) Management with full support from the Korean Boxing Federation (KBF). The inaugural event will take place on January 19th at KBS Arena in Seoul.
Running the MMA side of operations is TFC President Jeon Chan-Yeol. He stepped up to the podium and broke down the short history and success the promotion has had, however, he was candid about the state of mixed martial arts in Korea.
“Even though MMA is gaining popularity with the younger generation around the country, the sport is still on shaky ground,” he said.
Similarly, boxing has had its woes for the past few years and the KBF is hopeful that 2019 will be a turning point for the sport. KBF President Lee In-Kyung later added,
“Boxing in Korea is in a long period of stagnation. I hope to revive boxing (with Annihilation) going forward.”
Events will take place inside a traditional ring and next month’s show will feature a title fight. Reigning KBF 154lbs champion Jung Kyoung Lee (6-2) is taking on Australian Samuel Colomban Kaldjob (25-10-1) for the OPBF super welterweight title.
The most recent holder of the OPBF 154lbs title was Takeshi Inoue. The Japanese super welterweight has moved onto bigger and better things and will be challenging for a world title next month when he faces undefeated Mexican Jaime Munguia in Houston.
No MMA matchups were announced at yesterday’s press conference but three Top FC veterans are already on board for January 19th including light heavyweight Kim Doo-Hwan (11-5), a Korean Top Team fighter who is riding a two fight winning streak.
The other two mixed martial artists booked for Annihilation’s inaugural event are bantamweight Lim Byung-Hee (3-3) and featherweight Hong Jun-Young (8-5). Their opponents are set to be announced by the newly minted promotion at a later date.
Annihilation, Seoul, January 19th
Boxing: Jung Kyoung Lee vs Samuel Colomban Kaldjob (For OPBF Super Welterweight Title)
Kim Doo-Hwan vs TBA (Light Heavyweight)
Lim Byung Hee vs TBA (Bantamweight)
Hong Jun-Young vs TBA (Featherweight)
