Boxer Choi Hyun-mi wins eighth defensive fight in US

Champion boxer Choi Hyun-mi (30), a defector from North Korea, has won her eighth defensive fight in the women’s super-featherweight class competition of the World Boxing Association.

Choi defeated Calista Silgado of Colombia by decision of 3-0 in the title match, which took place at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida on Friday. By winning her first overseas match, the 30-year-old South Korean continued her clean record of 18 wins (4 knockouts) and 1 draw. Silgado now has 19 wins (14 knockouts), three draws and 12 losses. Facing the powerful Colombian boxer, Choi staged aggressive attacks from the very beginning to secure victory. Born in Pyongyang, North Korea, Choi defected to the South in 2004, and made her pro debut in South Korea in 2008.

Gennadiy Golovkin, a male boxer with Korean heritage from Kazakhstan, downed Kamil Szeremeta of Poland four times before winning the match through technical knockout in the seventh round of the middleweight class match of the International Boxing Federation, which took place at the same venue. Golovkin was defeated by Canelo Alvarez of Mexico and thus lost the combined title of the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council and the International Boxing Organization in 2018, but recovered the IBF championship last year. Golovkin won a total of 21 defensive fights in the middleweight class competition, breaking the previous record (20 fights) of the most wins in defensive fights held by Bernard Hopkins of the U.S. Golovkin has 41 wins (36 knockouts), one draw and one loss overall.


Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com