## KOREA FINALLY JOINS PABA!

May 15, 2002

SEOUL, KOREA-The Korea Boxing Commission (KBC) was finally affiliated with the Pan Asian Boxing Association (PABA), a regional body under the WBA, yesterday.

Previously the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) had solely governed the regional championships in Asia and the Pacific after the World War II, but Yangsup Shim, ex-vice president of the KBC, established the PABA in order to stimulate the regional activities years ago.

The development of the PABA, thanks to its versatile and energetic secretary-general Alan Kim, was such that it became a legitimate subsidiary organization under the WBA, which decided not to recognize the OPBF any longer. Eventually the OPBF became the regional body just under the WBC.

A sort of antagonism between Shim and the KBC had been reported for years, but they reached an amicable settlement and the Korean Commission now decided to join the PABA.

The WBA makes it a rule to rank a PABA champ in the top 15 of its world ratings, while the WBC does so an OPBF champ. There have been no actual confrontation between the OPBF and the PABA, but each obviously goes to a different direction of the WBC and the WBA respectively.

It is only Japan that has not affiliated with the PABA in Asia, as the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) said that it would retain its attitude to support only the historically long OPBF until Korea, where the PABA headquarters are located, should show the flag and become a member of the PABA. Now the JBC might have to consider its political decision as to how to be related with the PABA ? in association with the Japan Pro Boxing Association (JPBA), the union of managers and promoters, the president of which is Masahiko gFightingh Harada.

The activities of the OPBF have been very active, but those of the PABA might surpass them in terms of the number of regional championship bouts held in Thailand, Australia, and Indonesia.

Lately such PABA champs as Yodsanan 3K-Battery and Yoddamrong Singwangcha successfully seized the WBA world championships in the 130-pound and the 122-pound divisions to show PABAfs developments and contributions to the Asian boxing fraternity.

Meanwhile, the OPBF also boasts of good WBC champs such as 115-pounder Masamori Tokuyama and 108-pounder Yosam Choi, both of whom had been formerly OPBF titlists prior to their WBC coronations.

For Korea, whose fistic activity is at the bottom due to a lack of professional boxers caused by a recession, its affiliation with the PABA might be a sort of stimulation to activation of boxing there.

(5-14-02)

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