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Popular Korean Actress Moves Up Boxing Ranks

Lee Si-young plays rich, pretty girls in the popular Korean TV soaps Boys Over Flowers and The Birth of the Rich. She also plays rough with her fists in the boxing ring. The combination of these two activities has Korea’s popular media in a frenzy.

“It seems there are more cameras than spectators,” was one official’s assessment of the crowd filling the Andong Gymnasium in North Gyeongsang Province. It was the National Amateur Boxing Championships and on Tuesday Lee was fighting for a shot at the title in the 48-kilogram (106 pounds) division.

The fight had conflicted with her promotion schedule for the feature Dangerous Meeting due to hit theaters March 31. Even her boxing coach, a former WBA bantamweight and super bantamweight champion named Hong Soo-hwan, agreed with her management and advised her against competing.

Popular actress Lee Si-young jumps for joy after winning the final match of the 48-kilogram class at the 7th National Amateur Boxing Championships.

“For an actress, the face is the key to success, and we’re worried that she’ll get injured,” a management staffer told Chosun Daily. “But no matter how hard we try to dissuade her, she doesn’t want to quit.”

Rather than throw in the towel, Lee went to Andong for Sunday’s weigh-in, returned to Seoul the same evening for the film’s preview screening, then went back to Andong Monday to prepare for Tuesday’s match. The effort paid off in a 13-7 decision.

“I feel so good,” Lee said, punching the air. “I’ll do my best to win tomorrow.”

Then it was back to Seoul again to promote the film, then back to Andong for the final match Thursday. Her opponent was a high school freshman who couldn’t deal with Lee’s combinations and her power. The referee stepped in to stop the fight. Lee had another championship to add to last December’s 50-kilogram (110 pound) title in the KBI National Lifestyle Athletics Boxing Championship and February’s 48-kilogram title in the Seoul Amateur Boxing Match.

Lee’s passion for the ring began as a bit of preparation for a role in one of last year’s TV dramas. The training cut her body fat from 9.9 (22 pounds) kilograms down to 4.7 kg (10.3 pounds). The drama was canceled but Lee kept training, up to two hours a day before the latest championship. The results have been impressive.

“Lee has a great body for a boxer in the 48 kg category,” said Hong. “She is a gritty fighter. If she trains full-time, it’s not impossible that she will compete in the 2012 London Olympics.” Women’s boxing debuts as an official Olympic sport at the London games.

A shot at the Olympics would only add to the 29-year-old’s reputation for surprising passions. They include collecting action figures from Japanese robot anime Gundam and rooting for Liverpool in the English Premier League.

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