I Am Boxer (2025) s01e06 Episode Script

1
[theme song playing]
[announcer] The winner of
I Am Boxer will receive
a grand prize of 300 million won
and a top-of-the-line flagship SUV.
[contestant 1, in English] Open the doors.
-Wow.
-[contestant 2, in Korean] Goodness.
[Donghoe] This place feels
way too familiar now, huh?
[Youngho] Long time no see.
It's been a hot minute.
-It's exactly how I remember it.
-[contestant 2] Exactly the same.
Nothing's changed.
-It's good to see you, sir.
-Likewise.
-Oh, hey.
-Hello, sir.
Been good, my man?
Looking as handsome as ever, huh?
-Saw you grinding the other day.
-Nah, I'm just doing what I can.
Oh, hey.
Do you live around here?
-Yeah, I live nearby.
-Right?
[Youngho] Did you have breakfast?
-[Gijun] No, I skipped it.
-There's a lot of food here.
[contestant] What's good?
[Junseo] Try the Kdanmyeon
with some sauce.
It's actually pretty good.
It does kind of smell like chicken breast.
-It does?
-Oh, you're right.
-It totally does.
-It's super high in protein.
People who train should love this stuff.
Do you eat a lot
of high-protein stuff, Gijun?
-Yeah, but never in noodle form like this.
-[Youngho] Right?
All right then.
[Junseo] Let's dig in.
-It's straight-up pasta.
-Totally.
-Tastes like normal pasta.
-It's so good.
It tastes… freakin' good.
[contestant 1]
The place feels so empty now.
All right. I love it.
-Only the strong remain.
-Good to see you too.
We're down to the strong ones now.
Can we stop fighting already?
I'm a pacifist.
-Let's go get some protein.
-Okay.
[Youngho] There are three flavors.
-These are all different flavors?
-That's right.
-[Gijun] Are they sugar-free?
-Yep.
Makes you wonder,
"How is it this sweet with no sugar?"
-It's good.
-[Junseo] What a great time to be dieting.
I know, right?
Well, that was a tasty meal.
Let's get to work.
-Wonder what we're doing.
-[Chaehyun] I'm sensing a team match.
-Three teams of five?
-Yeah.
How about four teams of three?
-What?
-Yeah, four teams of three.
Someone's coming back today, I bet.
Feels like they'd want 16
for whatever's next.
Should we take them out
the moment they walk in?
If it's Myung Hyunman, no shot.
-Hello, hello!
-Hi, everyone.
-Hello.
-Hello.
Hello.
Have you all been well?
-Yes.
-Good.
Coach, wasn't this meant
to be a quick trip down memory lane?
Today, Master Don here has invited
a very special guest…
-[contestants exclaim]
-…exclusively for you all.
Wow, nice.
Must be someone famous, right?
Yeah, sounds like it.
He's a friend who boxes a little.
Huh? Huh?
Huh? Who?
"A friend who boxes a little"?
-Canelo?
-Mayweather?
[laughs]
An amateur record of 283 fights
with 268 wins.
And a pro record of 25 fights with 24 wins
and 12 KOs.
Huh?
All right then, WBC!
-What?
-"WBC"?
-WBA!
-Huh?
IBF and WBO!
Huh?
-Is it Naoya Inoue?
-"IBF"?
Nah, no way.
-[Jongkook] The reigning…
-"Reigning"?
…undisputed unified
light heavyweight champion!
Light heavyweight?
Seriously?
-Wait, for real?
-Who is it?
Bivol… I think it's Bivol.
I think it's Deontay Wilder.
-Wow.
-Are they seriously here?
-Is Beterbiev or Bivol here?
-[Hyunjun] Seriously?
[in English] Champ, come in!
-[Hyunjae, in Korean] I think it's Bivol.
-[Hyunjun] For real?
Wait, hold on. Is this for real?
[exclaims]
Whoa! This is insane!
[Dex] Please welcome Dmitry Bivol!
[contestant] Whoa, that's really him!
-[exclaiming]
-What the…
-It's actually Bivol!
-Whoa, it's Bivol.
[contestants exclaim]
Holy crap!
When he said "unified champion,"
I was like, "Don't tell me it's Bivol."
Then he actually showed up.
Wow, I actually got to see Bivol.
I can die happy now.
He's a legendary boxer.
The absolute best in the world.
[Chaehyun] When I found out it was him,
I literally screamed inside.
My heart still races
just thinking about it.
Having someone I've admired for so long
standing right in front of me
felt like a dream.
I was over the moon.
-Hi, guys.
-How did they even get him here?
Hi.
[Jongkook]
He's basically the BLACKPINK of boxing.
-[Dex laughs]
-[in English] One more, please.
One more. Okay!
[Youngho, in Korean]
Might as well get a hug then.
[in English] Welcome.
[Taekmin] Very, very big fan.
[exclaims, sniffs]
[in Korean]
This is total mayhem, isn't it?
They're smelling his belt and everything.
Big fan, big fan.
-Holy cow.
-Man, he's so cool.
[in English] My name is Dmitry Bivol.
I'm a light heavyweight
undisputed champion.
-[crowd cheers]
-[commentator] Look at him go. Oh, my…
[Bivol] WBA,
WBO,
WBC, and IBF undisputed champion.
I love boxing a lot
and everything connected with boxing.
When I heard about Korea
and the boxing show,
of course I didn't have any doubts.
I wanted to come.
Uh, my mother, she's Korean.
This is how I'm connected with Korea.
I want to see the level of Korean boxers.
I want to see the show…
What is the idea of the show?
Who will be the winner?
What I'd like to see is,
how he will do it.
[contestant, in Korean] This is just…
I've never seen you looking this excited.
You look happier than
when you won your own fights.
Yeah, I'm over the moon.
-Hey, get back to your spot.
-What?
Don't steal my spot.
-You didn't see this coming, did you?
-No.
This is unreal.
-Is this CGI or what?
-I know. Doesn't feel real.
[Lee] He's literally beaten everyone
in the light-heavyweight division.
-There's no one left for him to fight.
-[contestants exclaim]
So since he was on a break,
I asked if he could stop by.
And he really came.
Let's give him a big hand.
Big fan here, big fan!
-How is this even real?
-Appreciate it. Thank you.
When would we ever see him for real?
Seriously, it's downright impossible.
[in English] Yeah. Hello, guys.
Nice to see you.
Nice to be a part of this show.
[Taekmin, in Korean] Man, this is nuts.
[Bivol, in English]
And nice to come to Korea
because it's my motherland,
and this is my first visit.
-And, uh…
-[in Korean] It's his first time here.
[Bivol, in English]
Today, I will give you some advice.
Not for all of us,
but, uh, for some people, yeah.
-[contestants chattering]
-Welcome to Korea!
-I love you!
-[contestant laughs]
[contestant 2]
Well, that really woke me up.
[Dex, in Korean] Now, if I may,
I have one question for Bivol.
What would you say
is the most important thing in boxing?
[in English]
What is the important… boxing? [chuckles]
[in Korean]
Wow, that was… That was very concise.
-[Dex, in English] Sorry.
-[Jongkook] Ah.
I think it's everything from the legs.
-Yeah, from the legs.
-Oh, okay.
This is like engine.
And then, body is like a wire.
Finally, you're doing punch.
-[in Korean] All in the legs, huh?
-His legs do look solid.
[Jongkook] If anyone here has a question
they've been dying to ask Master Bivol,
go ahead.
[Taekmin] Feels like I shouldn't even
be allowed to ask him anything.
"How long does it take to get like you?"
[laughs]
I want to ask what he eats,
but maybe that's too much.
I'm curious, do you do weight training?
Great question. Weight training.
[in English] Yeah, of course
we're doing it, not too much.
But we have to do weight training.
Every morning, I'm running very slow,
around 20 minutes.
Maybe three kilometers, four,
it's in the morning.
But once a week, we're running
around 11 kilometers.
One hour running with sprints.
-[contestants exclaim]
-[in Korean] Wait, 11 kilometers?
-Guess we were doing it right.
-[chuckles] Yeah, I guess.
Man, he trains a lot.
[Youngho] I'd love to train with Bivol
for two or three days.
This really shows
he didn't become the best by accident.
For sure.
Before we move on,
since we have a world champion here…
Let me see what his punch feels like.
[contestants exclaiming]
I've only seen clips of this,
and now I'm watching him spar in person.
Everyone's moving up.
[laughing]
I wanna watch
from as close up as possible.
[Youngho]
Man, talk about a rare experience.
It's completely different
seeing him move in person.
-I can't believe I'm seeing this.
-Same.
Jab.
Two.
One, two.
Ooh!
-He always finishes with a hook.
-Yeah.
He's got real rhythm in his punches.
Can't believe he's in our gym.
Right-left hook.
Upper, hook.
-His punch snap is different.
-Upper, hook.
It's light, but the impact is there.
-That's what's scary.
-Right, it packs a punch.
[Taekmin] If you want to keep throwing
for 12 rounds,
you can't load up on every shot.
[in English]
Okay, let's do it one more time.
[contestant 2, in Korean]
His finish is flawless.
[contestants exclaim]
[in English] Thank you!
Respect! I love you!
[in Korean] He's got serious rhythm.
Unreal, huh? His punches.
So, how are his punches?
He keeps his shots relaxed
without over-rotation,
but they still land heavy.
Ah!
He digs in with every shot.
He really presses it in.
He's on a different level.
-All right, shall we move on to Round 4?
-Yeah, sounds good.
[Lee] For Round 4,
Bivol and I prepared the fight together.
They prepared it together?
What is it?
[Lee] You're about to witness
a fight more extreme…
Again?
Yes, again.
…than anything you've ever seen.
-"Extreme"?
-Come on.
-Another fight, huh?
-Yeah.
Round 4 starts right now.
[Jongkook] All right.
What will it be?
[contestant 3] Man, what are we doing now?
[announcer]
The blockbuster boxing survival show.
Round 4 of I Am Boxer.
Fighters, please step into the arena.
-[contestant 1] What is this place?
-[contestant 1] What is it now?
[Jongkook] Hard to tell
how this will go without a ring.
-Things are gonna get wild.
-Exactly.
Oh!
Whoa, look.
Looks like a fighting pit.
Literal trench fighting vibes.
What on earth are we doing today?
Man, I have a bad feeling about this.
[Dex] Seriously,
it must be nerve-racking for them.
-[Bivol, in English] They are nervous.
-[laughing]
-Probably.
-Yeah.
[Bivol] I Am Boxer.
This fight is…
Three-Man Battle.
Three-Man Battle.
[contestants exclaim]
[Youngho, in Korean]
A three-way fight? Geez.
[Junseo] That sounds dangerous.
[contestant 1] Are you serious?
How do you even fight there?
[announcer] In the Three-Man Battle…
three fighters
will take part in each fight.
-Three people fighting?
-[Youngho] Ah.
[announcer] The three fighters
will rotate, taking turns
in one-on-one boxing exchanges.
Each round will last
60 seconds,
and the number of rounds…
I thought, "12 rounds?"
…is unlimited.
Seriously?
Unlimited, huh?
We're screwed.
You've got to be kidding me.
[Sanggeun] Man, that's intense.
[bell dings]
[announcer] The fight will go on
until the Master calls it.
All right, that's enough.
[announcer] It will not end otherwise.
Out of the three fighters…
only one will survive.
So only five will make it?
They're picking only five?
Man, that's savage.
-[referee] Stop!
-[announcer] In the event of a KO…
[referee] Stop!
[announcer]
The fighter who scores it will survive,
and the other two
will be eliminated.
This means you could get eliminated
without even getting to fight.
This is basically a KO mandate.
[Hyunjun] The idea is to get a KO fast.
[announcer] If no KO occurs…
the Master and the judges
will decide the survivor.
[Seungjun] This won't be easy.
Oh, dear Lord.
[announcer] Round 4 of I Am Boxer.
Let the Three-Man Battle begin!
EPISODE 6
There's nothing to brace yourself against
with no ring or cage.
This feels like an MMA match.
[Dex] Not having a ring
could really change the fight.
Some fighters are better
with this kind of setup.
Given the small space,
they will have to fight toe-to-toe.
[in English]
For the out-boxers, it's not good, right?
It's easier for…
-Infighters, right?
-Yeah, infighters.
[announcer, in Korean]
The first matchup of the Three-Man Battle.
From the white corner…
[contestant 1]
We go straight down from here?
[contestant 2] I wonder who it is.
This is exciting.
[announcer] Cho Hyunjae.
-[Dex laughs]
-[contestants clap]
CHO HYUNJAE
KAFAC BOXER
[Dex] Hyunjae.
There he is.
[announcer] Facing Cho Hyunjae,
from the red corner…
[Taekmin] I figure
the lightweights or welterweights
will go before us.
I think Kim Minwoo will be called.
[announcer] Kim Minwoo!
KIM MINWOO
MMA FIGHTER, RING NAME "MAD DOG"
I'm not that worried
about the lightweights.
I thought, "This is good for me."
-[in English] He's an MMA fighter.
-Yeah.
[Lee] Elite boxer, MMA fighter.
[announcer, in Korean]
Facing Cho Hyunjae and Kim Minwoo,
from the blue corner…
Wait, could it be me?
[contestant 3] Yuk Junseo? I think so.
[announcer] Yuk Junseo!
Oh, my God.
YUK JUNSEO
EX-UDT ARTIS
[Junseo] When the two of them were called
out, I was already preparing myself.
I knew they were skilled fighters,
so I didn't have much room to relax,
to be honest.
I was feeling pretty nervous.
But I've come this far,
so I'll do my best and see this through.
[Jongkook]
Cho Hyunjae from the white corner,
let's hear your resolve
going into this match.
Everyone here has been cutting sleep,
preparing for this round.
I'll make sure you can all rest easy
after today.
-[contestants exclaim]
-[Lee laughs]
[contestant 4] He's taunting.
[Dex] The trash talk is getting fun now.
He's trash-talking like a boxer.
We had a lot of MMA fighters,
but I'm the only one left.
I'll prove through today's fight,
why I'm the last MMA fighter standing.
I'm pretty much the only non-athlete left.
With all these boxers watching,
I'll give you
the most exciting fight I can.
Thank you.
[Jongkook] Yes.
-[in English] Interesting combination.
-[Jongkook laughs] Right.
[Bivol] It will be an interesting match.
CHO HYUNJAE,
KIM MINWOO, YUK JUNSEO
[contestant 5, in Korean] What if
this turns into a 40-rounder? [laughs]
[in English] Cho Hyunjae, yeah?
[Lee, in Korean] Cho Hyunjae is an
out-boxer who leans on his speed.
We're going to see real speed in this one.
-If I jumped like that, I'd be exhausted.
-[Jongkook, Dex laugh]
You'd have to take a rest.
-Yeah, I would.
-[Jongkook] Definitely.
[in English] What about Kim Minwoo?
How's his MMA fighting?
He's good in MMA, or…
-He's good.
-He's good, yeah?
-He's good for an MMA fighter.
-[Bivol] For an MMA, he's good?
[Lee] His MMA is based on boxing.
-[Bivol] Oh, okay.
-[Lee] Yeah.
[Jongkook, in Korean]
Yuk Junseo is a unique one. Seriously.
He keeps you on edge the whole time.
He needs to be careful today.
[Jongkook] Right, I agree.
Because up until now,
none of the ones he fought were technical.
[Lee] Right,
he's only fought amateurs so far.
[Jongkook] The guys he's up against today
actually know the craft.
[Dex] I think it might
throw him off, actually.
[Jongkook] Yeah.
He'll get pulled out of his rhythm.
[in English]
This time, you're gonna say "Box."
-I'll let you know when. Yeah.
-Okay.
[announcer, in Korean]
The first match of the Three-May Battle.
Cho Hyunjae and Kim Minwoo,
please step into the center of the ring.
WHITE CHO HYUNJAE
VS RED KIM MINWOO
[contestant] There's a height difference.
[Hyunjae] Standing face-to-face,
he was shorter than I expected.
So I thought, "This might be pretty easy."
Box!
-Let's go!
-Box!
[contestants] Let's go!
I hope they do well.
ROUND 1
CHO HYUNJAE X KIM MINWOO
[contestant]
Hyunjae, keep it nice and light.
No, you're going for the big ones again.
Just keep it light.
[Jongkook] Why does he always
get caught in the face like that?
He's gotta keep that guard tight.
[Lee] Take a step back… Nice!
That was close.
-Hyunjae, don't just let him hit you.
-Gotta move more.
[Seungjun]
The ring was smaller than it looked,
so it was bound to favor the MMA guys.
-All right.
-There you go.
-Mad Dog is doing well.
-All right, you got this.
[Hyunjae] When I first fought Kim Minwoo,
I think I might've gone in
a little too confident.
I was thrown off a bit.
Never take your opponent lightly.
Hyunjae doesn't have big power,
so he needs to get technical.
[hosts exclaim]
Nice body shot!
Keep your distance.
No need to rush, Hyunjae.
That counter connected.
Nice uppercut.
Stay calm and control the pace.
You've got plenty of time.
-All right.
-[bell dings]
-Stop!
-That was good.
All right, Round 1 is over.
Okay, feel each other out.
ROUND 2
KIM MINWOO X YUK JUNSEO
It all depends on Junseo's endurance.
How much stamina he's got.
[Junseo] Since I got to watch
the other two fight first,
I was thinking about how I should pace
my round while I watched.
-Nice in and out.
-Let's go!
He's gotten better.
Nice move!
His moves have become cleaner.
He's actually doing pretty well.
[exclaiming]
Looks like he's put in a lot of work.
[Lee]
Yuk Junseo's rhythm has gotten better.
He had no rhythm before.
-Right.
-[Dex] You seem really intrigued.
His footwork is better than before.
Compared to two weeks ago.
[Dex] Everyone's really improving.
[Jongkook] He got better.
Just move your head!
[Minwoo] He's actually managing
his distance well.
[bell dings]
-Stop!
-Okay, that was good.
That was good.
BLUE YUK JUNSEO VS WHITE CHO HYUNJAE
Two straight rounds is tough.
It ain't easy.
[bell dings]
Box!
ROUND 3
YUK JUNSEO X CHO HYUNJAE
[Jongkook] I wasn't sure
about Yuk Junseo's style,
so I focused on throwing fast
and throwing a lot.
[Don] Yes, that's it.
Yes, keep those feints going.
-He's pretty good.
-He's too tense.
His body's wide open now.
Nice one!
Hey, don't get greedy!
-Jab and body!
-Throw that jab!
-Jab and body!
-Hyunjae's speeding up.
[Lee] Junseo's pulling his head
too far back. That's dangerous.
-More feints!
-[Jongkook] Stop leaning back.
But with Hyunjae firing nonstop like that,
it must be disorienting.
Looks tough to deal with.
Let's go!
All right!
[Lee] It's hard to break that rhythm,
so Junseo can't throw full power there.
-You're right.
-He's fast.
Don't waste your energy!
-[bell dings]
-All right, nicely fought.
He did well.
Breathe, Junseo.
Tough, huh? Just breathe, man.
[Don] Fighting Hyunjae must've been
really tough for Junseo.
[Junseo] His movement
was definitely better than mine.
"Strategy is going to be key here,"
that's what came to mind.
Don't get too close.
-[bell dings]
-Box!
ROUND 4
CHO HYUNJAE X KIM MINWOO
Yes, that's it! Only go in when he's open!
I knew I couldn't match
his rhythm in pure boxing,
so I went in trying to turn it into
more of a hand-to-hand fight.
-Relax and have fun with it. That's it.
-[Lee] Good.
Yes, nice movement.
Here he comes.
Don't just let him hit you, Hyunjae.
Kim Minwoo has more power.
There's a strength difference here.
There is.
Hyunjae's shots are lighter,
so he needs to keep that guard tight.
-Nice defense.
-He needs to cover up.
[Hyunjae] Maybe it's because
he's an MMA fighter,
but he was really trying to close in hard.
So I thought, "Stay calm."
"Just land one with real impact."
[all exclaim]
[in English] Nice uppercut, yeah?
[in Korean]
That uppercut timing was insane.
He's walking right into it.
Yeah, love that.
Manage your distance.
Keep your rhythm.
That's it, that's it.
Go for a straight shot! Make it clean!
Go for a straight shot! Make it clean!
-All right!
-[Lee] Nice… Oh, dear.
Where are you going?
-[laughing]
-Don't waste your energy!
Hyunjae's got real showmanship.
ROUND 4
CHO HYUNJAE X KIM MINWOO
[bell dings]
-Stop!
-Good job, man!
[Minwoo] He really is good.
Kim Minwoo's holding up well, though.
ROUND 5
KIM MINWOO X YUK JUNSEO
Now, this is it. Let's see what happens.
Yuk Junseo's probably going to try
to finish him off here,
since Kim's pretty drained.
That's it.
[all exclaim]
That kind of rushing,
that's his specialty.
-If you get caught clean by that…
-[Lee] He just needs to loosen up a bit.
[Dex] That's what's scary about him.
Breathe through it.
[Dex] Yes, use it to your advantage.
Got to finish the guy
whose stamina is dropping.
[Junseo]
Even if it took a toll physically,
the plan was to keep the guard up
and just push forward.
-Stop!
-His style's coming out now.
[in English] You know this guy?
-He really has good power.
-[Jongkook] Right, right.
-[Bivol] His natural power is really good.
-[Jongkook] Right, right.
Yuk Junseo's definitely got
KO power in those hands.
[Minwoo] I've trained
with a lot of different fighters,
but I'd never felt
a punch quite like that.
So I knew he wouldn't be easy.
-Let's go!
-You got this.
-[Lee] Because of their styles…
-Stop!
…Yuk Junseo is overpowering Kim Minwoo.
-[laughing] Yeah, that's how it looks.
-Both rounds.
He's beating Kim Minwoo.
[Dex] But against Cho Hyunjae,
he's still looking a bit rattled.
[Lee] Junseo's gassing out.
So Hyunjae needs to go for it now.
ROUND 6
YUK JUNSEO X CHO HYUNJAE
[Jongkook] This round's
gonna be tough for Yuk.
He's going to struggle in this one.
Guard up. There you go.
All right!
[Jongkook] Cho Hyunjae is
charging straight in.
He's keeping it tight.
He usually fights on the outside.
But now he's going all the way in.
That's not his style at all.
For this match, since the fighter
who scores a KO takes the win,
I figured I had to KO someone
the moment I saw an opening.
He really wants to win.
-Stay loose, Hyunjae.
-Light on the feet.
He's going for the body.
He's working on that left body.
For regular guys like us,
catching a few of those body shots…
-Brings you down.
-…really throws us off.
He wants the KO finish.
Save your energy!
Keep the defense tight.
Fifteen seconds!
-Oh, gosh.
-His body is too open.
-Whoa.
-That's what Cho wants.
Stay light.
Keep moving.
He's trying to end it here.
I think it'll end in one or two rounds.
-[bell dings]
-Break!
Cho really drained him.
[in English] Well, good. It was good.
It's not his style at all, but it's good.
[Hyunjae] I tried experimenting
with both infighting and out-boxing.
So when I finally
got used to my opponents,
I was ready to show them
what a boxer can really do.
[bell dings]
Here he comes.
-Here he comes.
-That's his thing.
[contestants exclaiming]
-Oh, boy.
-Goodness.
There you go!
There you go!
Nice one!
Did you see that hand roll feint?
No need to rush.
Yes, that's it.
He needs to go to the body.
Let's just land one clean shot.
-Five seconds!
-All right!
-Just have fun with it.
-[bell dings]
He didn't get to do much.
Right, that guy's really good.
He's really good.
[Lee] Junseo can't seem
to land on Hyunjae.
[Junseo] Hyunjae was
a tough matchup for me.
He's got a tricky style.
In comparison, my style matched up better
against Kim Minwoo.
[bell dings]
-He's pushing hard.
-See?
Look at him go.
He's like a bull charging forward.
He's like a beast.
[Junseo] I thought, "The only way I can
win this is to knock out Kim Minwoo."
-[Youngho] All right, let's go!
-[Sanggeun] Yeah!
[Lee] No one knows how this will turn out.
We could still get a knockdown.
If one guy gets KO'd,
do the other two keep fighting?
[Shin Donghyun] No, they…
So if I score a knockout,
I survive, and the other two get cut.
[contestant 1] Junseo might
actually send someone out.
[Jongkook] If Kim Minwoo has
any stamina left, he needs to go in now.
Yuk Junseo is pretty gassed right now.
-[Lee] Yuk Junseo is doing very well.
-[Dex] Right.
He's doing well
against these pro athletes.
[bell dings]
[Dex] Cho Hyunjae and Kim Minwoo
have totally different styles.
Switching between styles
is making it more challenging.
[contestant 1] Yes, keep it light.
-[contestant 2] Loosen up, Hyunjae!
-[contestant 3 exclaims]
[Junseo] When I was
up against Cho Hyunjae,
I went in thinking,
"I've got to hold out, no matter what."
[exclaims]
[Lee] I'm honestly impressed.
He's doing everything he can
to break that rhythm.
-[bell dings]
-Box!
ROUND 14
KIM MINWOO X YUK JUNSEO
[Dex, contestants exclaiming]
[contestant 2] Let's go first, man!
[Junseo] I wasn't thinking
about conserving stamina.
The plan was to go all in
and knock out Kim Minwoo.
There's nowhere left to fall back to now.
[contestants exclaiming]
I feel it coming!
[Youngho] He's loose now.
[contestant 1] Looks
like he's loosened up.
[Lee] Wow, there it is.
[Dex] He's still throwing those fast jabs.
[contestant 2] He's coming!
[contestant 4] Wow, he's good.
He's reading every shot and slipping them.
[contestant 2] Man, this is intense.
[Lee] Everyone's exhausted now.
They're starting to gas out.
[contestant 2] This really is tough.
-[contestant 3] It just won't end.
-This looks like the real deathmatch.
[bell dings]
ROUND 19
CHO HYUNJAE X KIM MINWOO
[contestant 1] Keep snapping!
They have to stay focused
until the very end.
[contestant 1] Don't get impatient.
Wait for it.
[Lee] Hyunjae's stamina is incredible.
Running around like that nonstop
is really hard, you know.
Look, he's still skipping.
[contestant 2] All right. Keep your cool.
-[in English] Cardio's good.
-Yeah.
[Lee] He's still running around.
-Yes, he can move.
-[Lee] Yeah, he can…
-[Dmitry] He can fight like this more…
-[Lee] Yeah.
[in Korean] That connected well. Nice.
[contestant 2] Stay calm!
-Now anything can happen.
-Five seconds!
[contestant 4 exclaims]
[contestants grunting]
[exclaims]
-Ouch!
-[bell dings]
-[contestant 2] "Ouch"?
-Did he just say "ouch"?
-[contestants chuckling]
-What was that?
Minwoo's in trouble now.
He's looking really gassed.
And he's up against
a recharged Yuk Junseo.
[bell dings]
ROUND 20
KIM MINWOO X YUK JUNSEO
Look, he's recovered
and coming right at him.
[chuckles]
[contestants grunting]
[exclaiming]
[Junseo] I thought, "This is the moment."
"I have to knock him out this time."
-Keep it up, you two!
-All right!
[Jongkook] Funny enough, Kim Minwoo's
backing away from Yuk Junseo
and inching toward Hyunjae.
[Hyunjae] Yuk Junseo was really attacking
Kim Minwoo hard.
I was starting to get nervous
that he might score a KO first.
[contestant 1] Squeeze out one more!
[contestant 3] Ten seconds.
-[bell dings]
-Stop!
All right, nice!
This round is going to be tough
for Yuk Junseo.
-Gonna be tough.
-[Dex] Yeah, he's gassed.
Yeah, this might be it.
Plus, Cho Hyunjae's looking fresh.
-Round 21?
-[contestant] It really is unlimited.
-Let's go!
-[bell dings]
-Let's go!
-Let's go!
ROUND 21
YUK JUNSEO X CHO HYUNJAE
[Dex] No regrets, you two!
Just pour everything out!
Show everything you've got!
-All of it!
-[contestant 2 exclaims]
[Seungjun] Their mental strength…
[Lee] Look at those jabs. Beautiful.
[rock music playing]
[exclaim]
-He got tagged.
-[contestant 3] This is it!
You have to go now!
I saw it as my last chance.
I knew I had to finish it with a KO.
As expected.
[Jongkook] Double left.
All right, that body shot landed.
-[contestant 3] His guard's dropping!
-[Jongkook] Go to the body now. There.
-Yes, that went in clean.
-[contestant 1] It did.
[contestant 2] He's doubling over.
Ten seconds left! Hang in there!
[contestant 2] Ten seconds!
[contestant 3] You're almost there!
-You got this!
-Three seconds!
-[bell dings]
-Stop!
[bell dings]
[Youngho] It's over.
-[contestant 1 exclaims]
-[bell dings]
[Youngho] Great effort, man.
[Seungjun] They fought for so long.
It was really close at the end.
Thirty more seconds,
-and someone might have gone down.
-Right.
[announcer] We will
now announce the result.
JUDGED BY 20 PROFESSIONAL JUDGES
[contestant 1] I think Hyunjae won.
[contestant 2] If it were me,
I'd pick this guy.
[Junseo] Honestly,
I really put in everything.
I was feeling hopeful.
By judges' decision,
the survivor of this match is…
Cho Hyunjae from the white corner.
WHITE CORNER
CHO HYUNJAE SURVIVES
[Youngho] Well fought, guys.
[contestant 1] Good fight!
Well done!
[contestant 2 sighs] Geez,
I'm feeling nervous.
It just gets scarier and scarier.
Well, who's up next?
[announcer] The Three-Man Battle.
We'll announce the next matchup.
-Only monsters are left at this point.
-[contestant 2 chuckles]
[contestant 3] I'm scared, man.
I'm scared.
[announcer] From the white corner,
Lee Chaehyun!
[contestant 1] Let's go, man.
[Chaehyun] When I heard it was
a three-way fight, I was confident.
I'd actually trained
under rules like this before.
If it came down to stamina,
I was sure I could win.
I'll just let my boxing
speak for itself in the ring.
[announcer] Facing Lee Chaehyun,
from the red corner…
[Youngho] Please, please.
[announcer] Lim Yunchan!
[contestant 2 exclaims]
[Lee] Lim Yunchan has a great straight.
His reach is 192 cm.
What?
[Jongkook] Well, he's long, all right.
[announcer] Facing Lee Chaehyun
and Lim Yunchan,
from the blue corner…
Shin Donghyun!
-[contestant 1] Let's go!
-[contestant 2] You got this!
[Shin Donghyun] As a Muay Thai fighter,
I was matched up against two boxers.
I'll prove that
I'm just as much of a boxer as them.
Because I'm not a boxer,
I can't help rooting for
the other non-boxers.
[in English] He's in OE Championship.
-OE?
-[Jongkook] Yeah, OE Championship.
-Wow, he's good?
-Yeah, he's good.
[Lee] He's an aggressive fighter.
-[Dmitry] Because it's Muay Thai, yeah?
-[Lee] Yeah.
[in Korean] Lim Yunchan
from the red corner,
let's hear your resolve
going into this match.
[Yunchan] I'm honestly glad
I get to face such strong opponents.
I've got a score to settle with Chaehyun.
A rival of mine? Chaehyun.
I wanted to go up against Yunchan.
He's a close friend I care about.
[Yunchan] We're pretty close,
so I was glad to get matched with him.
We said we'd fight but never did
since he's in the military.
I know this guy. Lim Yunchan.
He's a pro boxer.
Didn't even know he was coming here too.
It'd be fun to meet him here.
Hey, Lim Yunchan!
[Yunchan chuckles] Oh, hey.
Why are you in your military uniform?
You think you can survive?
Yeah, of course.
-"Even in death, I will not be defeated."
-[chuckles]
-[Chaehyun] How's that?
-Here we go again.
We've sparred quite a bit this year.
Earlier this year, when I was rehabbing,
the first thing I did was spar with him.
I naturally found myself rooting for him.
Yunchan, you're doing great!
Let's go, Lim Yunchan!
[Yunchan] I really respect Chaehyun.
You got this, Chaehyun!
Go, Chaehyun!
But I blinked,
and there were only 15 of us left.
It made me want to win more.
I knew that he was good,
but I still felt like I could take him.
I was confident.
[Yunchan] I'll make sure
to show up this time.
Let's have fun!
Sounds good to me.
[Youngho] Feels like a two-on-one fight.
-Might be a lonely one for him.
-Right, feels like a two-on-one fight.
[announcer] Let the fight begin!
-Box!
-[bell dings]
-Let's go!
-Let's go!
[contestant 3] Come on!
[Dex] This should be a fun match.
ROUND 1
LEE CHAEHYUN X LIM YUNCHAN
With both having long reach,
they're struggling to land.
-[contestant 1] Follow up with a hook!
-[exclaims]
[contestant 2] Nice shot!
[Lee] They're both out of range.
-Ba-bam!
-[Lee groans]
[contestant 4] Jab-slip! Jab-slip!
Following up with a hook! Nice!
-It's a battle of counters now.
-Exactly.
-[exclaim]
-He caught that counter.
[Chaehyun] I threw light jabs
with my lead hand,
just like I do in practice.
They were just landing so well,
so I felt confident.
Man, he's getting worked.
Lee Chaehyun is starting off
on the attack.
[contestant 1] Wow,
Lee Chaehyun's level of skill is…
[Jongkook] He's good.
[contestant 2] Ten seconds!
Chaehyun, 10 seconds!
Ten seconds! Yes, back off now.
[contestant 2] He slips so well.
-[contestants grunting]
-[contestants exclaim]
-[bell dings]
-[Youngho] This is fun.
-[contestant 1] Let's go, Donghyun!
-[contestant 2] Let's go!
[bell dings]
-Let's go!
-Let's go!
ROUND 2
LIM YUNCHAN X SHIN DONGHYUN
[contestants exclaim]
[Lee] Lim Yunchan's straight is solid.
[Jongkook] Oh, his reach is super long.
[contestant 1] He's clean, isn't he?
Body, then up top.
Go again! Keep it flowing!
He's got long, extending punches!
[Jongkook] This group's starting off slow,
-by the looks of it.
-[Lee] You're right.
[contestant 2] Five seconds!
[Dex] Okay,
this was just a feeling-out round.
-Stop!
-[Jongkook] Just feeling each other out.
[Lee] Both fighters played it calm so far.
-Let's see what happens now.
-[bell dings]
ROUND 3
SHIN DONGHYUN X LEE CHAEHYUN
-[Lee] I'm sensing a throwdown.
-[contestant 2] Let's go!
[exclaims]
[contestant 3] Get a little lower.
Pressure him. Yes, go again!
His lead hand is insane.
[Lee] Blue's looking a bit passive.
Maybe Shin Donghyun
is not in good shape today?
[Shin Donghyun] I had a strategy in place.
After watching the previous match
go up to around 20 rounds,
I figured I'd make the other two fight
and save my energy until the 10th round.
I was pacing myself.
[Jongkook] Shin Donghyun's really trying
to conserve his energy.
[bell dings]
-He's just…
-He's just watching them, isn't he?
He's waiting for the right timing,
hunting for that one clean shot.
ROUND 4
LEE CHAEHYUN X LIM YUNCHAN
[grunting]
[contestant 1] Both are working
the lead hand.
[contestant 2] Nice lead hand!
[Jongkook] Lee Chaehyun's having trouble
landing because of Lim's long reach.
-[contestants exclaiming]
-[huffs]
[Yunchan] I tried to read his moves
and get the right distance
since my reach's much longer.
[contestant 1] All right!
[Lee] That was great.
[contestant 1] All right!
[Youngho] That was lit.
Lim Yunchan's counters are landing well.
His specialty is his straight shots.
Taking one of those could be lethal.
[Chaehyun] I was honestly surprised.
Yunchan was really picking up steam
as the minutes went by.
Chaehyun shouldn't let his guard down.
[both grunting]
[contestant 1] Five seconds!
-[bell dings]
-[referee] Stop!
ROUND 5
LIM YUNCHAN VS SHIN DONGHYUN
[Jongkook] He needs to strike now.
[Jongkook, Dex exclaiming]
[Yunchan] I was trying to use my footwork
and change the tempo.
[contestant 1] Lim Yunchan really knows
how to control distance.
ROUND 6
SHIN DONGHYUN VS LEE CHAEHYUN
[contestant 1] Too wide.
He's looking for the right timing
to go in with the big shots,
but it's not working out.
-[contestant] Good, good.
-[Lee] An overhand right.
-[bell dings]
-I'm starting to feel it coming.
[both grunting]
[Dex] These two are heating up.
-[bell dings]
-You have to throw something at least!
Just like that!
That's a Muay Thai punch.
[bell dings]
Yes, a follow-up hook!
-Jab-slip-cross!
-Yes, here it comes! [exclaims]
It was kind of easy, to be honest.
I knew I had it.
[bell dings]
-Box!
-Let's go!
[contestant 2] Let's go, Lim Yunchan!
ROUND 10
LEE CHAEHYUN X LIM YUNCHAN
Keep those feet moving! Keep them moving!
-[both grunting]
-[contestants exclaim]
[contestant 4 exclaims]
Someone might really get hurt. Careful.
[Lee] Don't get carried away.
-[Chaehyun] You okay?
-Yeah, I can keep going.
-Wait, you're bleeding.
-[referee] Stop!
Wait, you're bleeding.
Stop, stop, stop!
Let me see.
Hold still for a sec.
I knew this was gonna happen.
Oh, they butted heads.
I'm fine.
[referee] Doctor!
Is there a cut?
[contestant 1] There's a cut?
Doctor, over here.
-Doctor, over here.
-Oh, he's bleeding.
-Goodness.
-Oh, boy.
He must be a bit dazed right now.
[Yunchan] Chaehyun maintains
a quick tempo.
I tried to keep up with him,
and we ended up butting heads.
[Chaehyun] Maybe Yunchan was getting
a bit impatient.
He put up a high guard
and tried to fight on the inside.
The moment we headbutted,
I thought, "That's a tear."
And I was right.
I felt terrible.
I just felt bad for him before anything.
I'm sorry, man.
If it leaves a scar, I'm suing you.
[Chaehyun] Man, I feel terrible.
-Oh, boy.
-Goodness.
Will he continue?
Let's have the doctor do a quick check
and see if he can keep going.
[referee] Can you
just handle the bleeding?
He got a bit of blood in his eye.
[contestant 1]
But that's clearly a cut, so…
Does he need stitches?
Yikes. What happens now?
-What now?
-They might call the fight right away.
[in English] I'm not sure
he can fight more.
I think so.
[referee, in Korean] Hold on.
Let me see. It's not that deep.
-[Yunchan] Is it a deep cut?
-No, not really.
-The bleeding stopped, right?
-I think so.
I think you're fine.
Yeah, he can keep going.
This level of injury
is really common in boxing.
The bleeding should stop when treated.
If it opens up any more,
I'll stop the fight.
[in English] He can fight, yeah?
[Jongkook] Yeah.
[in Korean] One more round? Okay.
We'll do just one last round each.
[grunts]
This one was the shortest, 10 rounds.
[Yunchan] Yeah, I was disappointed,
but I had to see it through.
I had to do my best.
-[referee] You okay?
-[sighs]
-[referee] Does it hurt?
-Slightly.
[referee] Slightly? Okay.
[Shin Donghyun] I thought, "This is bad."
"How's this gonna go for me?"
When he said we'd do one more round each,
I realized I had no other choice.
I just had to score a KO.
ROUND 11
LIM YUNCHAN X SHIN DONGHYUN
-Box!
-[contestant 1] Stay confident!
[Youngho] It's the last round! Let's go!
Burn it up! All right!
[Dex] Look at Shin Donghyun go.
-He's just…
-[Youngho] Fire away!
[contestants exclaim]
He should've done that earlier.
[contestant 3] Okay, nice.
-Keep going! It's your last chance!
-[contestant 4] Go big!
[Chaehyun] To be honest,
I was a bit worried.
He's got plenty of gas left.
-[contestants exclaim]
-[contestant 1] That's a slip.
He's aiming for that KO.
[referee] Box!
[contestants exclaiming]
[chuckling] Oh, hey!
He might finish him right now.
-[grunts]
-[exclaims]
[Shin Donghyun] I knew it was my chance
to finish off Lim Yunchan.
So he was holding back until now.
[contestant 2] If he drops him, it's over.
Looks like he could do it!
[Lee] He got caught.
[Chaehyun] I thought,
"Man, Yunchan's out of gas."
"Figures, he's injured."
"The cut must be bothering him."
[Shin Donghyun] I honestly think I had
Lim Yunchan outmatched.
I was thinking, "After the 10th round,
I'll send you flying."
I was waiting for the perfect moment.
[contestant 1 exclaims]
[Sanggeun] Wow, this is just…
[contestant 1] Ten seconds!
Box!
-[bell dings]
-Stop!
Okay, last round!
He really left it all out there.
Last one, let's go!
-Let's go!
-Show him, Donghyun!
It's the last round!
Let's go, Chaehyun!
You got this, Donghyun!
-[bell dings]
-Box!
[contestant 1] You've got
to pour it all out.
ROUND 12
SHIN DONGHYUN X LEE CHAEHYUN
Okay, he ate that cross.
[contestant 4] You've gotta go in!
Pressure him!
[Youngho] Nice one!
[Shin Donghyun] Lee Chaehyun seemed
a bit tired.
So I knew I had to bite down
and start trading to win.
I got quite a bit flustered.
He kept pushing forward.
I told myself, "Don't let him get close.
Keep your distance."
I thought, "I should amp up the pressure."
"I need to knock him out."
[Dex] What a strong offense.
[grunting]
[in English] He's strong, the blue one.
[Dex, in Korean] Last 20 seconds!
-Last 20 seconds!
-Come on!
-You have to go in!
-Fifteen seconds!
-Fifteen seconds!
-Show us something!
[Yunchan] I was worried
the fight might swing his way there.
-Go, Chaehyun!
-Almost there!
-Fifteen seconds, Donghyun!
-Almost up!
-Fifteen seconds!
-Ten!
-Ten seconds!
-[contestant 2] Ten, nine…
[Youngho] Step on the gas!
Oh, boy.
[Dex] Five seconds!
-Four, three…
-One more, one more!
[Lee] Keep going!
[bell dings]
-Stop!
-He was so close!
Nicely fought.
[Chaehyun] I was
pretty desperate down the stretch.
Things weren't going my way,
so I was really worried.
This one's real iffy.
No clue what to do here.
[in English] The red one didn't show
anything good in the last two rounds.
I would say that the white one
is more of a boxer.
-Yeah, he is.
-[Bivol] He has good skills.
-But I think the blue one is good also.
-Yeah.
It's all equal.
[in Korean] I think Donghyun is moving up.
[contestant 1] For me, white corner.
Maybe Chaehyun? Actually, I'm not sure.
[Lee] By judges' decision,
the survivor of this match is…
[contestant] Who will it be?
[Chaehyun] I think it could be me.
I fought clean, at least.
[Shin Donghyun] Please let it be blue…
Please.
…no one.
-…no one.
-[Gijun gasps]
[gasps]
-[contestant 2] Everyone's eliminated?
-[contestant 3] Oh, no.
[Chaehyun] I was shocked.
I was like, "I'm going home like this?"
[Shin Donghyun] How can there be
no winner? Then are we all getting cut?
[Lee] After discussing with Bivol,
we decided to have an overtime round.
We decided to have an overtime round.
UNPRECEDENTED
OVERTIME ROUND ANNOUNCED
Only two fighters will compete
in overtime.
Lee Chaehyun and…
Shin Donghyun.
All right.
[Lee] …Shin Donghyun.
[Yunchan] I respected their decision.
With the headbutt and all,
I didn't think I could continue either.
So I started rooting for Chaehyun.
[Chaehyun] Now that it's come to this,
I'll fight for Yunchan's sake.
The overtime round
will be one decisive five-minute round.
[Sanggeun] Five minutes?
-Did he say five minutes?
-Five minutes?
[Shin Donghyun] "Okay,
five minutes is good."
Think of it like a OE Championship bout.
I thought it worked in my favor.
[in English] Let's see what happens.
-[in Korean] Box!
-[bell dings]
-Let's go!
-You got this, Chaehyun!
-Let's go, Donghyun!
-Nice!
OVERTIME ROUND
LEE CHAEHYUN X SHIN DONGHYUN
-Show us what you got, Donghyun!
-[Youngho] It's showtime!
[Shin Donghyun] I started off
by pressuring him nonstop.
[contestant exclaiming]
Lee Chaehyun seemed a little scared
of taking a decisive shot from me.
He was very careful not to get hit.
[contestant 1 exclaims]
[in English] Good body shot.
[in Korean] Make every shot count!
[in English] The blue one
because of power.
-Yeah.
-And he has aggressive, yeah.
[Chaehyun, in Korean] His punches
were so powerful. He was pretty strong.
It was frustrating
not being able to defend properly.
[contestant 1] He's getting lit up.
[Yunchan] I was getting a bit worried.
Hey, it's okay! It's okay!
[Hyunjae exclaims]
He looks a bit tense.
You need to loosen up.
[Chaehyun] I tried to stay calm
and go at my own pace.
[contestant 1] All right, nice slip!
[Youngho] He's definitely good
at slipping. His movement's sharp.
Smooth defense.
[Youngho] Yes, it was.
[Dex] His distance control is great.
His sense of distance is so good
that he's almost untouchable.
[Chaehyun] Looked
like his distance control was off.
[contestant] Nice slip!
I had to win,
so I figured out a game plan.
I tried to grind him down
with my lead hand jabs.
[Yunchan] All right, nice jab!
All the jabs are landing.
[Chaehyun] My plan was to wear him down
and take him out.
-Nice jab.
-[contestant 1] There you go!
[Lee] Shots like that drain your gas fast.
Man, those punches were annoying.
Like someone keeps poking at you.
Felt like I was constantly losing points.
So I thought,
"Guess I'll have to push harder."
[contestants exclaim]
-Break, break! Stop, stop, stop!
-[Dex] Was there a headbutt?
Another headbutt.
But no tear, right?
Stop.
[Chaehyun exclaims]
[Yunchan] Is there a cut?
Is there a cut?
-You're not bleeding, are you?
-[contestant 2] No.
[Chaehyun] I said no,
because if the doctor stopped it then,
I would've lost.
[referee] You're good. All right.
No, he's fine. He can go on.
[referee] If the bleeding gets worse,
I will stop the match.
You have to accept that.
-Box!
-[contestant 1] Let's go!
-[Dex] Ninety seconds!
-[contestant 2] Ninety seconds!
[contestant 3] Do it now!
You have 90 seconds!
[contestants grunting]
-Chaehyun!
-[contestant] Chaehyun.
You have 80 seconds.
[Yunchan] I saw
that he was starting to bleed.
My fear came true.
Are you okay, Chaehyun?
[contestant 1] Throw! Gotta keep throwing!
-There's no time to waste!
-Ten seconds!
[referee] Stop, stop!
-He's bleeding.
-I'm fine.
-Let me see.
-I can keep going.
-Is there a cut?
-[contestant 1] Oh, there's a tear.
I'm fine.
-[Lee] Looks like it's a tear.
-I'm fine.
A headbutt.
[Jongkook] Oh, he's bleeding.
[Chaehyun] A doctor stoppage…
Just patch me up.
You can just patch me up.
…was what I was afraid of.
To be honest, I knew I could still fight.
It didn't matter if I was bleeding.
I just prayed
they wouldn't stop the fight.
Can he continue?
Are we continuing?
-The cut's not that deep.
-Right.
[Chaehyun] I just wanted
to stay in the game.
If you start bleeding again,
I'm stopping it right away.
[contestant 2] Okay, you got this!
[Yunchan] Let's go, Chaehyun!
[Chaehyun] I couldn't lose
to a Muay Thai fighter.
I was hungry for that win.
-Box!
-[contestant 1] Let's go!
Last push! Let's go!
-Let's go!
-Let's go!
OVERTIME ROUND
LEE CHAEHYUN X SHIN DONGHYUN
-[grunting]
-[exclaiming]
[contestant 3] That's it!
[Chaehyun] I thought,
"I'm gonna empty the tank here."
[in English] He's a crazy guy.
[contestant 1, in Korean] Donghyun was
pushing hard earlier,
and he looks exhausted now.
[contestant 2] Too wide!
[contestant 3] You're swinging too wide!
[Shin Donghyun] I kept chasing
that one big shot, and it wouldn't land.
[in English] The white one is
a better boxer.
You're right.
-[in Korean] You got this, Chaehyun.
-Almost there!
-Ten seconds!
-Ten more seconds, Chaehyun!
-Ten seconds!
-Ten seconds!
[contestant 3] Almost there! Keep going!
That's the shot!
-[exclaims]
-[contestants grunting]
-All right!
-[bell dings]
-Stop!
-Oh, boy.
[Lee] Well done, both of you.
[Shin Donghyun]
I threw some strong punches,
so I thought I had a shot at winning.
[Chaehyun] I was pretty sure I had it.
Which makes you a better boxer?
Having that one powerful shot or…
Generally, the one
with polished technique is better.
Power's something you're partly born with.
Ah…
[Lee] The survivor of this match is…
[Youngho] I think it's Donghyun.
But isn't that the kind of style
Bivol likes?
[Lee] The survivor of this match is…
Lee Chaehyun from the white corner!
[exclaims]
[contestant 1] Way to go, Soldier!
[Chaehyun] It was really tough,
so I'm really glad that I won. [chuckles]
No, I mean it.
I can't even put it into words.
Now I've got to prove
I truly earned my spot in the Top Five
on my skill alone.
Now, from the red corner, Lim Yunchan,
how do you feel after the match?
I thought about quitting boxing,
but I Am Boxer made me want
to get back in the ring again.
To be honest,
most of my boxing memories were bad ones.
I fought a lot with my dad
over boxing, and…
Not long after my first pro fight,
my dad fell sick and passed away.
Even when he was ill,
I was determined to keep boxing.
He said he was proud of me
for my hard work.
[breathing shakily] But after he died,
all I did was drink, and I barely trained
because I didn't want to do it anymore.
Then I met Chaehyun early this year.
We trained together,
and boxing became fun again.
[uplifting music playing]
[both grunting]
And it still is so much fun. [sniffles]
I believe what I do from here on
is what really matters.
This whole experience has helped me
change my outlook on life.
I'm truly grateful. Thank you.
[in English] First of all, I want to say
that it was a really good match.
And I'm happy to hear it
because I love boxing so much.
And it helps me a lot also in my life.
It builds my core.
And I found family in the boxing society
because even when we're fighting
each other, we're doing, uh, one…
Uh, one thing.
[inspiring music playing]
I would like to see you
in the future somewhere.
I hope you will continue boxing.
[announcer] The Three-Man Battle.
The next match up is between
Kwon Ohgon, Lee Sanggeun, and Kim Hyunjun!
Box!
-All right! Let's go!
-Box!
[exclaims]
Kwon Ohgon looks to be
in great shape today.
He's warmed up now.
[exclaims]
The white one was good.
[Dex] Kwon Ohgon's punches are
seriously fast.
The survivor of this match is Kwon Ohgon.
WHITE CORNER KWON OHGON SURVIVES
[announcer] The next matchup is between
Kuk Seungjun, Park Youngho, and Lee Gijun!
-Box!
-[bell dings]
Box!
Let's go!
All right!
Nice slip!
Wow, look at Lee Gijun go.
[in English] It was nice.
[in Korean] Gijun's got the technique,
and Seungjun's got the gas tank.
It all comes down to how these two fight.
He's got really sharp footwork.
[all exclaim]
Lee Gijun's really good.
[bell dings]
[Lee] The survivor of this match is
Lee Gijun from the blue corner.
-[cheering]
-[applause]
BLUE CORNER LEE GIJUN SURVIVES
It was a place beyond anything
we could've imagined.
Finally, the moment has come.
My chance has come back around.
I'm taking this, no matter what.
-[referee] Box!
-[bell dings]
This is it! This is it!
Guard up, man!
No dodging, guard up!
Last chance! Just go for it!
[Junseo]
I'll die on my shield if I have to.
[Seungjun] I'm going to win, period.
I'll take this for sure.
[Youngho] We've got a big match left.
[contestant 1] Who do we have left?
[contestant 2] Kim Donghoe,
Kim Taekmin, Hong Sungmin.
[Seungjun] This final group is insane.
[Youngho] This is gonna be wild.
I was hoping to see this matchup.
-Can't believe it's actually happening.
-Right.
[breathing rhythmically]
[contestant 1] This one's
just pure entertainment.
[sighs] The three strongest
are pitted against each other.
[announcer]
From the white corner, Hong Sungmin!
-[all applauding]
-[contestant 1] Wow.
THREE-TIME KNSF CHAMPION
HONG SUNGMIN
-[Minwoo] Let's go!
-[Seungjun] Highlight of the day.
[contestant 2] Let's go, Tyson Hong.
[contestant 3]
White's been winning so far.
[announcer]
From the red corner, Kim Donghoe!
[contestants exclaim]
FOURTEEN-TIME KNSF CHAMPION
KIM DONGHOE
[Lee, in English]
He's been winning 14 years.
-Fourteen? National team, yeah?
-Yes.
Interesting.
[announcer, in Korean]
From the blue corner,
Kim Taekmin!
[contestant 1, in English] Come on!
THREE-TIME KNSF CHAMPION
KIM TAEKMIN
-Come on!
-[contestant 2] Big game, big game.
[chuckles]
[Jongkook, in Korean]
Man, this group is stacked.
How did they even come up with this?
-[in English] Heavyweights.
-Yes.
It's interesting.
[contestant, in Korean]
Well, this is just…
-The three amateur kings.
-[Sungmin] Head-to-head at last.
-[tense music playing]
-When I joined this show,
I figured I'd face Taekmin one day.
And that day is today.
[Taekmin] Donghoe and I spar full-contact
at least four times a week.
We know each other inside out.
And we both know
Hong Sungmin's game really well too.
I'm up against Korea's top fighters,
but I can beat them both.
As the oldest guy here from a works team,
I want to show I've still got it.
Honestly, any one of them could win.
It's about to get wild in here.
-Let's go, guys!
-[contestant 1] Let's go!
[contestant 2] You got this!
[Youngho]
Man, the pressure hits different here.
[contestant 3] Everyone here
brings serious weight to the ring.
Only one of these guys gets to move on.
Crazy when you think about it. [chuckles]
WHITE HONG SUNGMIN
VS RED KIM DONGHOE
[Donghoe] I'll show you.
[Sungmin] I'll show you
just how hard it is to beat me.
Box!
-[bell dings]
-[contestants exclaim]
-[referee] Box!
-Let's go!
-[contestant 2] All right!
-[contestant 3] Let's go!
HONG SUNGMIN X KIM DONGHOE
[Donghoe]
It was my first time facing Taekmin,
so I started light, just feeling him out,
conserving my energy.
[contestants exclaim]
[Taekmin] He's really loading up.
[Sungmin] That round was just
to figure him out and get my body going.
[contestant 1 exclaims]
[judges exclaim]
-Seriously.
-Wow.
[Jongkook, in English]
Kind of a different level, right?
[in Korean]
Kim Donghoe is about 10 kilograms heavier.
[contestant 2] Sungmin, close that gap!
Step in as you punch, Sungmin.
-[bell dings]
-[referee] Stop!
First round's pretty chill.
-Just feeling each other out.
-Yeah.
[contestant] You did good.
[Sungmin]
Since I'm in a lighter weight class,
I was scared I might gas out
in the later rounds.
[tense music playing]
[contestants exclaim]
[exhales deeply]
I'm literally holding my breath.
[Taekmin] To be honest, I felt confident.
If this went 30, 40, 50 rounds,
I knew I'd win in the end.
RED KIM DONGHOE
VS BLUE KIM TAEKMIN
-[bell dings]
-All right. Box!
KIM DONGHOE X KIM TAEKMIN
Kim Donghoe is pulling his punches.
[contestant 1 exclaiming]
[contestant 2] Wait, what?
[contestant 3 exclaims]
[Chaehyun] Look at Kim Donghoe.
He's just cruising in there.
[Donghoe]
My game plan was to conserve energy.
Slipping shots, avoiding exchanges
and gradually picking up the pace.
-It's all about surviving now. Stop!
-[bell dings]
[Taekmin]
I played it defensive in the first round.
Since this could go 30 or even 40 rounds,
I just told myself,
"Play it safe. Don't get greedy."
This is about to get heated.
-[bell dings]
-All right. Box!
KIM TAEKMIN X HONG SUNGMIN
[grunting]
Their styles are really similar.
You're right. They both move like this.
[exclaims]
[contestants exclaiming]
[Sungmin] I tried to fire with confidence.
[contestants exclaim]
Yes! Drive that in, man! [exclaims]
All right!
Keep moving!
Hong Sungmin is setting up a counter.
[intense music playing]
-[exclaims]
-[contestants gasping]
-[exclaims]
-[contestants gasping]
-[bell dings]
-Holy cow.
-[Dex exclaims]
-[in English] Good uppercut.
-[bell dings]
-[referee, in Korean] Okay, box!
HONG SUNGMIN X KIM DONGHOE
Nice, love that knee bend.
-[contestant 1] Find your rhythm, Sungmin.
-[contestant 2] Yes! Keep moving!
[Donghoe]
He's only avoiding those wide swings.
One clean shot at a time!
One clean shot at a time!
[contestant 3] Nice movement!
[exclaiming]
Doing well, Sungmin!
-[bell dings]
-[referee] Stop!
[contestant 1] He's pacing himself well.
[contestant 2]
Donghoe's gonna struggle the most.
-[bell dings]
-All right, box!
Box!
[grunting]
Yes, Kim Taekmin needs to go in now.
[Lee] He can't win
unless he breaks that rhythm.
[gripping music playing]
[in English] Kim Donghoe,
he's like on the training.
-Yeah.
-He's not on the match.
He looks like he's training.
[music intensifies]
[grunts]
KIM DONGHOE X KIM TAEKMIN
-[bell dings]
-Stop!
[in Korean] I can't figure out
what Kim Donghoe's thinking. [chuckles]
He's just looking very calm.
He can't afford to play like that
because we might just cut this short.
-[bell dings]
-[referee] All right…
-[contestant 1] Let's go!
-…box!
ROUND 6
KIM TAEKMIN X HONG SUNGMIN
[contestant 2] Sungmin, amp it up a bit.
-[Dex] You're doing awesome!
-[contestants exclaim]
All right!
-[contestants exclaim]
-[Dex] All right!
[contestant 3 exclaiming]
Whoa, that was close.
[contestant 4]
He saw that coming. [exclaims]
[all gasping, exclaiming]
[contestants] All right!
[Jongkook]
Hong Sungmin's got good rhythm today.
[Lee] Taekmin's punches aren't landing.
-[bell dings]
-Stop!
They look like vipers.
[Sungmin] It felt like
the real fight was about to begin.
So I really focused on
not losing the momentum battle.
[Donghoe] The plan was still
to be patient, conserve energy,
and go slow and steady.
-[bell dings]
-All right, box!
[contestant 1]
Sungmin, keep that rhythm going!
[contestant 2] Nice slip, Sungmin!
[intense music playing]
Great reflex, doing well.
[bell dings]
Get in with confidence!
[Lee] Go for it now!
He should slowly shift gears.
If he doesn't go harder now,
he'll be the one losing out.
[Donghoe] Time to start picking him apart.
[Taekmin] With unlimited rounds,
this fight's only just getting started.
[Sungmin] Forget conserving energy,
I'm just pushing forward now.
You got this!
[in English] Three more rounds, yeah?
[Jongkook] Oh, three more rounds?
One last round for each!
One last round for each!
[Donghoe] Already?
This is really it?
[Taekmin] That's unexpected.
-[bell dings]
-All right, box!
HONG SUNGMIN X KIM DONGHOE
[Sungmin]
I threw the game plan out the window
and just decided to empty the tank.
[exhilarating music playing]
-Nice rhythm.
-Head movement's nice too.
Very powerful. Nice.
[contestant 1 exclaiming]
[contestant 2] He's moving well.
Kim Donghoe usually cruises
through his opponents,
but not this time.
I usually use the ring ropes
to corner my opponent and attack.
So without the ropes,
I couldn't keep my offense going.
-[contestant 3 sighing]
-[contestant 4 exclaiming]
That shot connected clean.
[exclaims]
-[Lee chuckles]
-[exclaims]
[Dex] This is brutal.
[Taekmin exclaims]
-[bell dings]
-Stop!
[gasping, exclaiming]
He's looking sharp today.
-[in English] The white one's really good.
-Yeah.
Yeah, he's showing better than the others.
[Lee] Doing awesome, Sungmin.
Breathe, Sungmin!
You're doing great.
[Taekmin] I could tell
Donghoe was starting to lose steam.
[Lee] Kim Donghoe is gassing out.
A little bit, right?
He's at a disadvantage
compared to the other two.
-[bell dings]
-All right, box!
KIM DONGHOE X KIM TAEKMIN
Remember, only one survives! Let's go!
Let's close this out with impact!
[Taekmin grunting]
[Jongkook] He's playing it way too safe.
All right, guys, let's go harder!
[dramatic music playing]
[contestant 1] Step out to switch.
[Dex] Just drive it in!
-[bell dings]
-[referee] Stop!
I can't tell who's doing better.
[Lee] He's gassed.
[contestant 1] It must be exhausting.
[Donghoe] It was gonna end
before I could show anything.
I was pretty frustrated.
Let's go!
[Taekmin] Donghoe seems tired.
Guess I'll take the win.
[Sungmin] I'm going to win this,
even if I collapse doing it.
-[bell dings]
-Let's go!
-[referee] Box!
-[contestant] Last round until the win!
-[intense music playing]
-This is your last chance! All right!
[contestant 2] Don't back off, Sungmin!
ROUND 12
KIM TAEKMIN X HONG SUNGMIN
All right!
Now's the time to crash in.
-[contestant 1] That's it!
-[contestant 2] Hey!
This is it! The last round! 50 seconds!
-[contestant] This is it!
-[Dex] There's nothing after this!
Oh.
[contestant 3] Stay focused, Sungmin!
Keep that rhythm going.
[Dex] No need to hold back!
There's nothing after this!
-[contestant 1] Hey, hey.
-[contestant 2] Hey.
Would you look at that?
[contestant 3] All right!
-[contestant 4] Hey.
-[Youngho] They're both on fire.
[contestants exclaim]
[Dex] Keep going!
[contestants cheer]
-[contestant 1] Ten seconds!
-[contestant 2] Last 10 seconds!
ROUND 12
KIM TAEKMIN X HONG SUNGMIN
[contestant 3] They've flipped the switch.
-[referee] Get back inside the circle!
-[contestants exclaim]
[referee] Back inside the circle!
-Get back in here!
-Go, Sungmin!
Stop!
Wow, that was pure madness.
-[in English] What do you think? Oh.
-I don't know.
-I don't know.
-We have to choose one.
-I don't have to.
-[both laugh]
[in Korean] He doesn't know?
-He didn't do anything impactful.
-Right, right, right.
I think… I see he's tired.
Who will win?
[tense music playing]
By judges' decision,
the survivor of this match is…
[Donghoe] It was so close,
any one of us could've taken the win.
[Sungmin]
Still, I showed everything I had.
[Taekmin] Honestly, yeah, I want it.
[Lee] The survivor of this match is…
Hong Sungmin from the white corner.
WHITE CORNER HONG SUNGMIN SURVIVES
He really did do well, though.
All three of you fought beautifully,
but Hong Sungmin's rhythm
and overall performance
were particularly sharp today.
He really did well.
[Sungmin] I was kind of stoked.
I was glad I didn't shrink
and just pushed
with everything I could,
and with a passion.
That's probably why I won.
What comes to mind is
I'm gonna need to work even harder.
I could've done better.
I do have some regrets.
Sungmin deserved it.
[in English] Respect.
[Lee, in Korean]
Congratulations to the five fighters
who survived the Three-Man Battle.
[contestants clapping]
[in English] Congratulations, you.
I wish you good luck in the future.
I wish you will learn more
from this experience.
Because it's a really good experience,
which you got.
Congratulations
and good luck in the future.
[Jongkook, in Korean] Great.
[Chaehyun] Now that I've made
the Top Five, I'm going for the win.
[Gijun] I'll do everything in my power
to win this thing.
[Ohgon] I'll give everything I have
in the matches ahead and dominate.
[Sungmin]
Making the Top Five just made me hungrier.
[Hyunjae]
I'll show you what real speed can do.
[Junseo] It was a place beyond anything
we could've imagined.
[contestant 1] I never thought
I'd get to witness something like this.
[contestant 2]
Finally, the moment has come.
[Lee] Gotta keep going till you drop.
[contestant 4] This is totally insane.
[Lee] You can see N Seoul Tower from here.
[Dex] Right.
Where else do you get a view like this?
[Jongkook] When we were little, we'd go,
-"To the rooftop, let's go," right?
-[Lee laughs]
-"To the rooftop, let's go."
-"Let's go."
"You think you're tougher than me?"
[Jongkook laughs]
"To the rooftop, let's go."
[in English]
What do you think of this stage?
It's beautiful. Beautiful, yeah.
We're on the highest level, I think, yeah?
You ever fought on top of a building?
-I never have… I have never tried that.
-[laughing]
[in Korean] Right?
[Lee] So, this is our deathmatch arena.
We talked it over
and picked 6 out of the 10 who lost
to give another shot.
We'll run three matches tonight,
and the winners will earn an extra pass.
-They're all too good to cut.
-Man, who should we pick?
-[Dex] I'd love to see Yuk Junseo again.
-[Lee] Yeah, same.
I love that aggressive style of his.
[in English] I think he was good.
[in Korean] Yeah, let's give him
another shot. I want to see him again.
-Kuk Seungjun?
-Great.
-[in English] This is MMA fighter, yeah?
-Yeah.
[in Korean]
I'd like to see Hyunjun go again.
Okay.
[Dex, Lee] Here they come.
[exclaims]
[Dex] Oh…
[Jongkook] They look awesome.
[Dex] They look like gladiators.
[contestant 1] Wow!
-[Youngho] Man, what's this now?
-[contestant 2 sighs]
[Shin Donghyun] Guess we're doing
another crazy thing on the roof tonight.
[Junseo] I've made it this far.
I'll die on my shield if I have to.
[Youngho] So it's not over yet.
[Jongkook] Man, this will be tough.
Bivol, please reveal the deathmatch.
[in English] This deathmatch is
The Tire Brawl.
The Tire Brawl.
[contestants exclaim]
Whoa…
Oh, dear Lord.
[Hyunjun] What is that tire?
[Seungjun]
Will I be fighting in that tiny space?
[Junseo]
Hmm. I've never tried that before.
How does that even work?
[Jongkook] Let me explain the rules
of this deathmatch,
The Tire Brawl.
Both fighters will have one foot
placed in the tire
and box it out from there.
The Tire Brawl is a single round fight.
[in English] I think stop.
-Stop! Stop!
-[bell dings]
[Jongkook, in Korean] The fight will go on
until the Master calls it.
Now, here's how many of you
will survive this deathmatch.
Out of the six of you here…
three will survive.
-Oh… Three? So half will survive.
-[tense music playing]
[Minwoo] Hearing that three of us
would get back in the game
really fired me up.
[Junseo]
So I have to beat my opponent to survive.
[Jongkook] Should a KO occur,
your survival or elimination
will be decided on the spot.
[Shin Donghyun] I have to score a KO.
If no KO occurs,
the Masters will choose
the final survivors.
[Youngho]
I'll give every last drop I've got.
[Minwoo]
This is the last consolation match,
so I'll go all out.
[Seungjun] I plan to keep pushing
and rise even higher.
[Dex] Ah, I could never do this.
I'd be scared out of my mind.
Fighting at this distance?
-[intense music playing]
-[Jongkook] We'll announce the matchups
of the Tire Brawl deathmatch.
[Lee] The fighter
to enter the deathmatch is…
Park Youngho.
[Jongkook] He has great stamina.
He's strong, and he's got the weight.
[contestant 1 sighs]
This is just too scary.
The person I want to avoid
is Park Youngho.
He's got the weight
that lets him absorb those hits.
The guy's strength is no joke.
[Shin Donghyun laughing]
That's freakin' scary.
I trained really hard for this.
I'm ready to fire up an engine now.
Since I'm the type who prefers infighting
and slugging it out up close,
I figured I'd have the edge here.
[Lee] The fighter facing him is…
Kuk Seungjun.
Kuk Seungjun.
[contestants clapping]
[contestant 1]
This is really going to be tough for him.
-[Bivol] There's a 21-kilo difference.
-[Lee] Twenty-one? Wow.
That's a bit of a gap.
[in English] Is, uh, the skill…
-Skill guy? He's skillful, yeah?
-[Lee] Yeah.
Against not skillful, but a big one, yeah?
-And a strong one.
-[Lee] Yeah.
[Jongkook, in Korean]
But he can really take hits, you know.
You saw it earlier.
He absorbs all the damage.
[Youngho] I felt confident.
Honestly, I really did. No joke.
I've fought against Kuk Seungjun before.
I could see that he preferred
to fight on the outside.
But say you tie us up close?
I'm the infighter between us.
"Yeah, I think I can do this."
That's what I thought.
I was terrified.
I was like,
"If he hits me clean, I'm dead."
Still, his boxing experience isn't long.
So I figured I'd use the body combos
I've sharpened with my technique
and really use my skills to the fullest
to show what I'm made of.
[Lee] The Tire Brawl deathmatch…
starts now.
Box!
[bell dings]
-[contestant] Let's go!
-[referee] Box!
[Jongkook] Okay, nice.
[contestant 2] Don't forget to breathe!
-Oh, boy.
-Nice, that's it. Keep going.
Yes! Drive that hook into the body!
-He's aiming at the body.
-He's going to the body.
[Seungjun]
He kept a high guard the whole time,
so my plan was to spot the openings
and go to the body or throw hooks.
[contestant 1] Okay, sweet!
[Jongkook] Oh! Nice short shots!
[contestant 2] Keep it short and sweet!
[Youngho] He kept going to my body
in the earlier match too.
But I've never gone down
from taking a body shot.
[Lee] Seungjun, get your guard up!
[Youngho] Honestly,
I don't recall feeling any of it.
Hey! Hey!
[contestant 1] Get lower!
-You're too high!
-[Jongkook] Hey, hey!
[contestant 2] Keep it short, man!
-Guard up and breathe!
-[Jongkook] Guard up!
Park Youngho's durability is…
Ouch.
[Shin Donghyun] He's about to gas.
Just hang in there, Youngho.
Yes, keep breathing. That's it.
-[contestant 1] You've got more power!
-[contestant 2] Hey.
[contestant 1] Guard up!
Don't try to slip everything!
Guard up, man!
[contestants exclaim]
The fighter to enter the deathmatch is…
The two Muay Thai fighters,
carrying its pride.
[Minwoo]
I'll tear into him like a real mad dog.
-Box!
-[Dex] That one got in.
-[Lee] Oh! Down!
-[referee] Down!
[contestant] Hey, hey!
Keep going! Don't stop!
[in English] Work, work, work, work!
[in Korean] We have three empty seats.
-Are they not coming?
-Maybe they're hiding.
WHO ARE THE THREE SURVIVORS
OF THE DEATHMATCH?
[sportscaster] Hello, viewers.
Welcome to the I Am Boxer Quarterfinals.
I'm sportscaster Seong Seungheon,
joined by commentator Lee Gyuwon.
[contestant 1]
I will win this no matter what.
[contestant 2] Whoever it is,
you'd better brace yourself.
[crowd cheers]
[Seungheon] Round 1 is about to begin now.
Box!
[bell dings]
[theme music plays]