(JAN 28) NEW YORK CITY – Coming off her
controversial loss by decision to new International Boxing Federation IBF
Bantamweight World Champion Shurretta Metcalf, 14-4-1 (2KO) last October,
three-time, two-division world champion Miyo Yoshida, 17-5, returns to the
ring February 1st against Slovakian super bantamweight Beata Dudek, 5-5-0
(5-5, 4 KOs).
Yoshida vs. Dudek is a scheduled for an eight round bout on a card presented by
Prime Time Promotions at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
COMPUBOX statistics for last October’s Yoshida vs. Metcalf 2 were heavily in
favor of Yoshida, who lost her IBF Women’s Bantamweight World title, due to the
judge’s dubious scores of 99-91, 97-93 and 96-94.
According to COMPUBOX, Yoshida finished the fight ahead 96-64 overall, 49-17 in
jabs, 30-16 in body punches and 8-0-2 in a round-to-round breakdown of total
connects. Yoshida’s masterful defense kept her opponent at a distance, resulting
in a large percentage of Metcalf’s punches falling short of connecting, striking
nothing but air.
Overall, Yoshida landed an astonishingly 50-percent more punches (96-64) than
Metcalf, in addition to having a much higher accuracy percentage, nearly three
times as great at 22-percent to her opponent’s 9-percent.
Yoshida’s manager, New York-based lawyer Keith Sullivan, filed an appeal to the
IBF, requesting an immediate rematch. The IBF reviewed Sullivan’s legal filing
and supporting statistical data and took the rare move of maintaining Yoshida in
the #1 ranking, and ordering her as Metcalf’s mandatory challenger, demanding
Metcalf to defend her crown against Yoshida.
“I am very grateful to the IBF and my manager, Mr. Sullivan,” Yoshida said about
her present status. “Looking back at the last match, I am horrified by the
scoring results, especially 99-91. We had an excellent game plan to address the
height and reach advantage of my opponent and we were faulted by the judges for
executing it perfectly.”
The main difference between her last and upcoming fights is her mental approach
to win so clearly that everyone will agree when her hand is raised in victory.
Yoshida’s unconcerned about risking her mandatory title shot versus Metcalf by
taking this fight with Dudek, who fights out of Hungary.
“Last year,” she explained, “I only fought one match. There was a gap between
matches. In order to be in top condition, I want to fight consistently, and I’ll
definitely be ready to win this match.
“My opponent (Dudek) is one weight class higher and the same height as Metcalf.
So, I wanted this fight for those reasons, a bigger and taller opponent to
prepare me for the re-match. Dudek is an opponent not to be underestimated. I
have been training hard to keep up my spirits. I started fighting at flyweight
and this will be my first time fighting at 121 pounds, but I’ve braced myself
for it.”
“Miyo had a great camp. She will put on a tremendous
display of her boxing skill and power. Her focus and commitment to her training
is inspiring,” noted her head trainer Jimmy Sosa, who trains her with his
brother Aurelino and conditioning coach, Sergiy Korchynskyy.
“By taking this fight, Miyo risks losing the title shot but she was adamant she
wanted to keep busy and wanted a taller, heavier, and stronger opponent,” added
Miyo’s manager Keith Sullivan. “I was very pleased with the IBF decision. I
filed that within 48 hours of the decision. God willing, Miyo emerges Saturday
victorious then the title shot is next.”
A boxing lawyer as well as a former Deputy Commissioner for the NYS Athletic
Commission, Sullivan also manages undefeated Brooklyn heavyweight prospect Pryce
Taylor (5-0, 3 KOs) and undefeated Bronx NYPD Officer Nisa Rodriguez (3-0, 1
KO), the WBA No. 3 rated welterweight, in addition to co-managing world-rated (WBA
#5, IBF #6, WBC #13) welterweight contender Paddy “The Real Deal” Donovan (14-0,
11 KOs), the reigning WBA Continental Champion from Limerick, Ireland. Sullivan
co-manages Donovan with former world middleweight champion Andy Lee, who is also
Donovan’s head trainer.
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