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Leong Fu, Champion Of The World - Part 07 – He Fights King Kong For The First Time
The images top left and centre are scans from a local Chinese magazine reporting in photographs the first encounter between Leong Fu and King Kong in the Happy World, Singapore on 2nd November 1957. The result for this, their first of several battles was a draw.
When asked why he had returned to Asia after his successes in Europe he said that he had heard that King Kong, like himself, had fought to a draw with the world champion Lou Thesz in the United States and so had come to beat him.
Top right is a scan of the poster for this momentous fight where Leong almost won and King Kong lost 4 teeth!
Bottom left is a a scan of the original photograph taken during the fight with King Kong and used as part of the photo report by the above magazine.
In the fight King Kong took the first fall in the second round, Lee equalised with a submission in the fifth, but then injured his hand when a chop aimed at his opponent missed and landed in the ring post. The match was declared a No Contest.
Undeterred, he fought and beat King Kong twice after that, once in Singapore and once ion his home ground, Jubilee Park in Ipoh, thus becoming Champion of the World.
To go to Part 08, click here.