Ryu Kyung Suh and Kanae Maehara Fight
to a Draw
by Ron Scarfone
August 17, 2024
(AUG 17) Minimumweight contender Ryu Kyung Suh of South Korea and Kanae
Maehara of Japan fought to a majority draw in a six-round bout at
the Yugwansun Gymnasium in Cheonan, South Korea on Thursday,
August 15. The total scores of the judges were 58-56 in favor of Suh and 57-57 from the other two judges. The fight was in the
minimumweight division which has a weight limit of 105 pounds.
Both boxers weighed 104¼ pounds.
The fight was live streamed on YouTube by the Boxing M – KBM channel and the entire event is a
recorded video in the Live category. The time stamp for Suh vs.
Maehara is 1:49:47.
Suh is rated No. 8 by the International Boxing Organization
(IBO), No. 11 by the Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA),
and No. 13 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF). Suh
fought for the vacant WIBA title in the minimumweight division
in her previous fight on March 16, 2024 against contender Riyuna
Yoshikawa of Japan. That fight ended in a split draw. Therefore,
Suh has had two draws in two consecutive fights against Japanese
opponents. Maehara had a draw on March 16, 2023 against Megumi
Watanabe of Japan in a four-round bout. Watanabe is currently
rated No. 28 by the IBO in the minimumweight division.
All of Suh’s pro fights have been in South Korea. Maehara fought
all her previous fights in Japan, so her fight against Suh was
the first time as a pro that she fought in a different country.
Maehara has never won by knockout. Suh is known for her punching
power with knockouts in five of her seven wins. Both boxers work
in the medical field at a hospital in addition to their pro
boxing careers. Suh is employed as a doctor in Cheonan, South
Korea whereas Maehara is a full-time nurse in Tokyo, Japan.
The fight between Suh and Maehara was action-packed from
beginning to end. Maehara began throwing rapid punches in the
first round.Suh landed punches, but not as much as Maehara who
was throwing more punches. In round two, Suh attempted to keep
pace with Maehara and increased her hand speed. Suh landed more
punches than in the previous round. In round three, Maehara was
able to withstand the hooks and uppercuts to the head from Suh.
Suh had a tight guard when she was trying to defend against the
fast punches from Maehara. Despite this, Maehara was still able
to land hooks to the body and connected on counterpunches when
Suh tried to attack rather than defend. It was a very close
round to score and arguably an even round.
The second half of the fight began. The referee warned Suh in
the fourth round for pushing down on Maehara’s head. Maehara was
mostly landing punches to the body, but Suh was doing most of
the damage with her stronger punches directed at Maehara’s head.
Round five was similar to round four regarding the strategies of
both boxers. However, Suh seemed to be more fatigued and did not
throw punches as often as in round four. In the sixth and final
round, the referee again warned Suh about pushing Maehara’s head
down. It appeared that Maehara landed slightly more punches than
Suh in this round, but there was a great effort from both
boxers. Maehara maintained her fast pace and relentless pressure
throughout the fight.
The commentators admitted that Maehara has skills, but that the
punches from Suh were more impactful. The evidence of that was
on Maehara’s face which was noticeably bruised from the powerful
punches of Suh. Suh’s face was virtually unmarked. Suh raised
her arm after the 58-56 score in her favor was announced.
However, the referee raised both boxers’ arms after knowing the
twin scores of 57-57 from the other judges. Although one judge
scored the fight in favor of Suh, the fight was still ruled a
draw because of the tie scores from the other two judges. Suh
remains undefeated with a record of 7-0-3, 5 KOs whereas Maehara
has a record of 3-2-2, 0 KOs.
The WIBA title that Suh fought for is still vacant, so there is
a possibility that she may get another opportunity to fight for
that title. Maehara could be considered a contender herself by
virtue of her two draws against contenders Suh and Watanabe even
though she is currently not rated by the sanctioning bodies.
