UNLV hails its latest champion, but the news is relatively muted

Dean Juipe

Thursday, April 22, 2004 | 10:22 a.m.

UNLV boxing has won nine national championships in six years:

1999

Manny Libatique, 125

2001

Xenon Mallari, 106

2002

Xenon Mallari, 112

Lyndon Manlapao, 119

Louis O'Hiaeri, heavy

2003

Xenon Mallari, 112

Lyle Nixon, 125

Jose Gonzalez, 132

2004

Moon Kim, 112

Moon Kim isn't the first college student to have come to Las Vegas and done something he'd rather not tell his parents. In fact, it happens all the time.

But in Kim's case, the secret he is withholding from his parents and three sisters back in Korea has nothing to do with shame or having too much fun in Sin City.

He just isn't sure how they would react to finding out that he's not only a member of the UNLV club boxing team, but that he recently won the national championship at 112 pounds.

"They don't know," he said this week at the Rebels' bunker-like gym on campus, when asked how his family received the news of the title and belt he won at the National Collegiate Boxing Championships in Reno two weeks ago.

They don't know?

"They're very conservative," he said. "They probably wouldn't like it.

"I don't want them to worry about me, so I never told them I joined the team. I couldn't tell my parents, which is kind of sad.

"But maybe I will someday."

Kim's story isn't so much one of deception but one of incredible willpower.

Early in 2003 he walked into the gym and introduced himself to head coach Skip Kelp in spite of the fact he had never boxed, didn't follow pro or amateur boxing and carried a portly 165 pounds on his 5-foot-4 frame.

In just over a year he not only got his weight down to 112 pounds and learned about boxing, he won a national championship by defeating an Air Force Academy representative in the final who had beaten him a month earlier in regional competition.

Kim, a 29-year-old junior, also carries a full academic load at UNLV and works as a kitchen helper (and associate cook) at the Green Valley Ranch casino.

"This guy is so unbelievable," Kelp said. "Everything he does, from boxing to his work schedule, he gives it everything he's got.

"The sacrifices he's made for boxing alone are amazing."

Kelp, who opens his program to any interested UNLV student no matter how little they understand boxing, was underwhelmed by Kim's boxing prospects when they first met.

"I told him I knew I would need someone to fight at 112 and he said he could do it and I laughed, thinking it was funny," Kelp said. "But he not only worked his weight down, he got to be pretty good at boxing.

"I showed him the basics and he just kept doing the drills over and over."

Kim's initial motivation wasn't to win a collegiate national championship but to add some discipline to his life.

"I'd gotten into the routine of drinking and smoking when I had free time, like lots of college students do," he said. "I was drinking a lot and smoking cigarettes and I wanted to quit.

"Boxing gave me that motivation."

The indoctrination process had its ups and downs.

"I first time I sparred with someone I was so nervous, I had to go to the bathroom," he said. "I couldn't throw one punch. I was scared, nervous.

"All I could do was put my hands up around my head to protect myself."

From those humble beginnings, Kim obviously developed into a formidable fighter. But conquering steep odds is nothing new for this budding chef and restaurateur.

"I was a restaurant manager," he said of his life in Korea before deciding to commit to school and life in the United States. "I had practical knowledge (of the business) but no real knowledge.

"My parents thought I was crazy, but I found out about UNLV on the Internet and got some information from some other people in Korea and came over."

That was in 2001 and Kim not only hasn't been back to Korea since, he's hopeful of living for many years in Las Vegas.

"This is the best city," he said. "Not just for the entertainment, but for everything. Actually, I want to get a (full-time) job here if I have a chance and stay in Las Vegas.

"I love it."

It's the restaurant business and not boxing that will keep him here, however, as Kim said he has no desire to fight professionally.

"I still don't think I'm a good fighter," he said.

But he's much improved in comparison to where he started.

"The hardest thing was getting in shape," he said of losing 50-plus pounds to meet Kelp's goal of 112. "There wasn't a lot of time for me to practice because of school and work, but I ran 4 miles every morning and night, every day.

"I was feeling very lonely and thought that maybe I should quit.

"But I got some confidence because I learned how to listen. Besides being in shape, that was the most important thing; I learned that if I listened to Skip, I'd be fine."

Listening to Kelp and taking his advice to heart may have been the difference as Kim won his championship match with his Air Force opponent.

"I was pretty overwhelmed," Kim said of reaching the final. "I thought it would be a close fight but I knew the judges might prefer a military man, and Skip said the only way to overcome that is to dominate every round. We felt that if I didn't dominate every round and lost one, the judges might say I lost the fight."

But Kim won the fight, touching off an emotional celebration in the ring with his teammates and new friends.

Those emotions are still close to the surface.

"I just want to tell you how proud I am," he said, trailing his interviewer outside the UNLV gym to add a closing remark.

"I'm proud to have done something for my teammates, for my school and for Las Vegas."

He did something for himself as well. Perhaps even his parents and sisters would approve.