By:Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

The Korean Zombie earned a first round knockout of ninth-ranked Dennis Bermudez in his return bout.

Bermudez opened the Feb. 4 fight with strong blows, but found the inevitable lurch of Chan Sung Jung to be inescapable.

A bear of an uppercut took Bermudez to the ground. Jung was on him, delivering hits, when the fight was called.

Knockout. 2:49 in the first.

Probably a bit of an early stoppage, all things considered. But the bell was rung and what’s done was done.

I’ve been a fan of The Korean Zombie since I first found out there was a fighter with the nickname “The Korean Zombie.” A few years ago, he was one of the most exciting, rope-a-dope fighters out there.

The prevailing theme across fight media is “The Korean Zombie is back!” He didn’t have as much as ring rust as many predicted and he picked up a win in his classic style.

Belal Muhammad tweeted, “There was three years of anger in that uppercut.”

We shouldn’t be this surprised.

We may remember that he missed his fights in 2014 following a shoulder injury he suffered in his championship fight. But he’s not returning from that injury. He’s back from serving mandatory time in the South Korean Military.

That time serving not only gave him time to heal, but it was time spent keeping him fighting fit.

South Korea raises one of Asia’s strongest militaries. And in the case of Chan Sung Jung, one of the world’s toughest fighters. The soldier’s return has put his division on notice.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu