Northern Ireland’s kickboxer Johnny “Swift” Smith received the opponent for his next outing scheduled for September 12. Battling it out at Stormont Hotel in Belfast, a protegee of Billy Murray takes on Lee Sung-hyun of Korea. The pair squares off in a five-round championship bout with a prestigious WKN World welterweight title on the line. The contest headlines the next edition of the “made in ProKick” events, billed as “Knockdown Lockdown”.
Johnny Smith (9-0, 6 KOs) last fought in October 2019, when he successfully defended his WKN Intercontinental welterweight title by knockout in the second round against Shuhei Sone. Before that he claimed the belt via fourth-round TKO against Lee Ji Hoon, as well as held an amateur world title with a record of 17-4-2.
“Swift” Smith was expected to challenge for World Kickboxing Network Gold in June 2020 against Yohe Fujioka of Japan. The bout fell off due to pandemic.
Lee Sung-hyun (55-9-1, 17 KOs) was last in action in Shoot boxing in September 2019, when he dropped a unanimous decision against Kaito. His most recent kickboxing bout was in July the same year, when he claimed RISE middleweight title by UD against Shintaro Matsukura and secured the fourth win in a row.
Earlier in his career Lee defeated a number of notable competitors including Chris Ngimbi and Andrei Kulebin, as well as went up against Muay Thai and K-1 superstar Buakaw Banchamek. He also held RISE lightweight title and won various tournaments, including K-1 World MAX 2014. In addition the Korean fighter scored a 5-5 record in MMA, with the most recent fight ending in a unanimous decision against Jin Soo Yoon in September 2012.
KNOCKDOWN LOCKDOWN – MAIN EVENT ??
?? Johnny Smith ? Lee Sung-hyun ?? for #WKN World welterweight title headlines the next edition of made in @prokick events at Stormont Hotel in Belfast on September 12 ? #knockdown #lockdown pic.twitter.com/wDf5BPZIM5
— World Kickboxing Network (@WKNkickboxing) May 31, 2021
Preceding Johnny Smith vs. Lee Sung-hyun for WKN welterweight title, three undercard matchups are set to feature the representatives of the country-host up against international opponents in a series of WKN title bouts. The current Prokick: Knockdown Lockdown fight card can be found below.
Prokick: Knockdown Lockdown fight card
WKN World welterweight title, oriental rules, 5×3 mn rounds
Johnny Smith (Northern Ireland) vs. Lee Sung-hyun (Korea)
WKN European women’s bantamweight amateur title, oriental rules, 4x2mn rounds
Grace Goody (Northern Ireland) vs. Pia Peters (Germany)
WKN International featherweight amateur title, oriental rules, 4x2mn rounds
Jay Snoddon (Northern Ireland) vs. Ranieri Cingolani (Italy)
WKN British super lightweight amateur title, oriental rules, 4x2mn rounds
James Braniff (Northern Ireland) vs. Joshua Embradura (Wales)
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