SUNG HOON CHOO SUFFER’S FIRST-ROUND KNOCK OUT IN FIRST FIGHT BACK IN MORE THAN TWO YEARS

Sung Hoon Choo (49, Japanese: Yoshihiro Akiyama) suffered a first-round knockout in his return to mixed martial arts after 674 days (1 year, 10 months, 3 days). Chu failed to make it past the first round of their special rules super-fight bout against Nicky Holzkorn (41, Netherlands) at ONE Championship 165 on April 28 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan .It was agreed that the bout would feature one round of boxing, two rounds of Muay Thai, and three rounds of mixed martial arts.

With a judo background, it was important for Choo to overcome a relatively disadvantageous first round of boxing and second round of Muay Thai against Holzkorn, who specializes in stand-up striking.After a minute of exploratory striking in the first round, Choo closed the distance between them, but was dropped by a left hand punch from Holzkorn.

After exchanging punches, he tried to slow his opponent down with a clinch, but Holzkern slipped out of the way and planted his fist on Choo’s jaw. Barely getting to his feet, Choo was unable to withstand the pressure from Holzkorn and was promptly knocked down by a straight right hand. The referee didn’t bother with a count this time and immediately declared Holzkern the winner. Chu Sung-hoon, who won a second-round TKO over Shinya Aoki (JPN) in his ONE Championship bout in March 2022, was also unable to overcome the weight of time. Choo’s 스포츠토토존 mixed martial arts record now stands at 16-8.