http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=AvKxv9y7U3KVQJ8vVc7SPso5nYcB?slug=ki-mancinikim111207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
I, as a Korean, didn't know the fight was as a big deal as mentioned in the column. It's a crime that the movie itself was so poorly made.
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It was a huge fight, though many in the United States didn't expect it to be so competitive, as not a lot was known here about Kim. He gained tremendous respect in defeat for his courage and ability, and Mancini-Kim was one of the great fights of the 80's. Additionally, it had historical significance (in boxing circles); following Kim's death, the World Boxing Council (WBC) lowered the distance in its championship fights from 15 to 12, believing that the additional punishment boxers sustain in the later rounds is particularly dangerous. Ironically, it was Kim's ability to take a punch and courage that led to his death, as a lesser fighter would have been stopped by Mancini's attack earlier, and not sustained the punishment Kim did.
Mancini was never the same after this fight. In his next bout, he struggled against a mediocre fighter (George Feeney); then, after winning a few more fights against relatively poor competition (only Bobby Chacon had been a top fighter, and he was well past his prime and out of his natural weight class), he lost two fights in a row and retired. Attempted comebacks resulted in two additional losses, as Mancini's career ended in a 4-fight losing streak.
Kim's showing gained a good deal of respect for Korean boxing in general, in the United States, and the Olympic team that showed up on Los Angeles two years later from Korea was very well received.