By Ronnie Nathanielsz
WBC featherweight champion Injin Chi who defends his title against WBC Youth title holder , 21 year old Australian Tommy Browne, continues his training at the ALA Gym of well-known Cebu boxing patron Tony Aldeguer and is expected to return to South Korea about one week before his scheduled January 30 title defense.
Injin Chi's manager, respected Korean businessman-sportsman Kusung Lee said he had the champion train in Cebu because of the good weather and the excellent facilities, pointing out that it was winter in Seoul and it was difficult to train. Kusung Lee is hoping that Chi would retain his crown and sometime in the future will battle Ring Magazine featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao in an unification bout. Chi won the title with a smashing seventh round knockout over Michael Brodie of England in a rematch after WBC president Jose Sulaiman nullified Chi's victory in their first meeting, claiming there was an error in the scorecard of one of
the judges.
Chi is training in Cebu along with two other Korean fighters and his trainer. Kusung Lee said he is pleased at the seriousness with which the champion is taking this fight after failing to train hard for his first title defense against Japan's Eiichi Sugama and
finding himself on the verge of a knockout before he put the game Sugama away in the tenth round. Browne who has a record of 17-2-1 with 7 knockouts is coming off a split decision tenth round victory over Rudy Lopez to retain the WBC Youth title last October 29. Browne won the vacant crown via a unanimous decision over Filipino Jake Verano on December 5, 2003. Chi has a record of 29-2-1 with 18 knockouts.
One of Chi's defeats was at the hands of then WBC featherweight champion Erik "El Terrible" Morales whom he battled furiously before losing a decision on July 28, 2001. Browne who watched Chi's battle with Sugama said he is "very tough but I'll be ready."
