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Umio Gen
UMIO GEN (photo in other thread)
22(4)-22-13 1 NC
Gen was a Korean born boxer that fought for Japan's Imperial Boxing Club and was later managed by Jes Cortez. Gen possessed great courage, speed and footwork but was completely lacking in power. Newspaper accounts called his style one of "boring in" relentlessly on opponents. From 1934 to 1937 he fought exclusively in the Far East (Japan, Korea and the Philippines) amassing a record of 15-6-5 1NC. During this period he won the Japanese Bantamweight and Featherweight Titles
In August of 1937, Gen traveled to America where he engaged in 21 bouts over an eighteen month period. The results were not good with Gen going 3-12-6 on his US swing. Nineteen of his bouts went the distance and his opponent list read like a who's who list including Kid Covelli, Pablo Dano, Baby Arizmendi, Pete DeGrasse, Tony Chavez and Billy Buxton. Some have said that with his skills, beter management would have made him a sure contender.
Following his decision loss to Clever Henry in Honolulu, Gen headed back to Japan where he fought 10 more bouts before retiring for good in 1946.
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