Two WIBA World Title Fights Ended in
Split Draws
by Ron Scarfone
March 27, 2024
(MARCH 27) The Women’s
International Boxing Association (WIBA) mini flyweight world
title fight at the Swiss Grand Hotel on March 16 in Seoul, South
Korea between contenders Ryu Kyung Suh of South Korea and Riyuna
Yoshikawa of Japan ended in a split draw.
The judges’ scores were 96-94 in
favor of Yoshikawa, 96-95 in favor of Suh, and 95-95. The fight
was for the vacant title, so the title will remain vacant. The
mini flyweight division is commonly known as minimumweight which
has a weight limit of 105 pounds. The fight was uploaded to
YouTube on the Boxing M – KBM channel. Boxing M stands for
Boxing Management which was the co-promoter for this fight. KBM
stands for the Korea Boxing Member’s Commission which was
regulating the fight.
The fight on YouTube appears to
be what was broadcast on tvN Sports Live which is a South Korean
television network. The commentators were speaking in Korean,
but subtitles can be used and translated into other languages.
Suh is a doctor in a hospital for her other career. One of the
commentators said that she is curing patients in the hospital
and she is producing patients in the ring. It is true that she
has won by TKO five times, but that was not against a top ten
contender such as Yoshikawa.
I believe that Yoshikawa should have won at least six of the ten
rounds. She did that, but only from one of the South Korean
judges. It is important to note that this judge scored the fight
in favor of Yoshikawa. Suh’s straight right during the fight
caused Yoshikawa to swell around her left eye and there was also
a little swelling around her right eye. The reason the swelling
was worse around her left eye is because that was where Suh’s
right hand was landing more often. Yoshikawa had a good defense
and it appeared that she was landing more punches than Suh in
most of the rounds. However, Suh has more punching power than
Yoshikawa. Suh is also taller and has a longer reach. Yoshikawa
was able to overcome these advantages of Suh, although two of
the three scorecards did not reflect that.
WIBA President Ryan Wissow was
the supervisor of the fight. He stated on his Facebook page that
he is okay with the draw. I am okay with the draw too, but not
because I agree with the decision because I did not. I feel it
is okay only because it is not going to cause much damage
toYoshikawa’s career. She is still going to be considered a top
ten contender.
Yoshikawa is only 22 years
old, so she is not at the peak of her prime yet. Suh is 32 years
old, so she still has prime years left. Wissow informed me that
he suggested a rematch for this fight. I agree with Wissow that
it was a good fight and I think people will be interested in a
rematch. Perhaps the rematch could be under different
circumstances such as the fight being in Japan instead of South
Korea or the fight being scheduled for 12 three-minute rounds.
Yoshikawa’s record is now 6-2-2, 1 KO. Suh remains unbeaten with
a record of 7-0-2, 5 KOs.
There was another recent WIBA world title fight that ended in a
split draw. This fight was for the vacant WIBA super
featherweight title, so the title is still vacant. The fight was
in Australia on March 23 and two Australians were fighting for
the title: Deanha Hobbs and Tywarna Campbell. The judges’ scores
were 100-90 in favor of Hobbs, 98-92 in favor of Campbell, and
95-95. This was a rematch because Hobbs and Campbell fought in
November 2022 in a five-round fight that Hobbs won by unanimous
decision.
Because of the disparity in the judges’ scores, there is a
chance that the decision by the judges could be overturned by
appealing the decision. However, I think it will be a slim
chance to overturn the decision because it was a draw and not a
loss for either boxer. Of course, they can have a third fight
(also known as a threematch) and I think the WIBA would sanction
it. Hobbs has a record of 11-2-1, 6 KOs. Campbell’s record is
4-2-2, 0 KO.
