Kim Ju-hee’s Formidable KO Punch

Kim Ju-hee (19 years old, Hyeonpung F&B), the world’s youngest female pro-boxing champion, has defended her title.

On May 6, her first title defense (the first out of 10 matches) of the IFBA Junior Flyweight Championship was held at Jangchung Gym in Seoul. Kim Ju-hee took a lopsided lead from the start and scored a 43 second second-round KO victory against Madyda Kidsolan (19 years old, the Philippines), another junior flyweight boxer ranked sixth.

In December 19 of Last year, Kim became the world’s youngest flyweight champion at the age of 18, defeating Melissa Shaffer. With the KO victory, Kim’s record stands at eight wins (including three KOs), two draws and one defeat, and she once again succeeded in living up to her title. Kim was scheduled to have her first match with former IFBA Flyweight Champion Maribel Zurita, but Zurita suffered an injury during sparring. With the match only two weeks away, Kidsolan was chosen as Kim’s new opponent, leaving little time for Kim to get to know her opponent before the game.

In the first round, she made exploratory moves. Kim cut her lip while giving jabs to Kidsolan, who boxed aggressively. But she easily gained the upper hand by concentrating her punches on her opponent’s face. In the second round, Kim became aggressive, delivering successive punches to her opponent’s face and stomach to corner Kidsolan. Around the 43-second point, Kim launched a one-two combination squarely into Kidsolan’s face and brought the match to an end.

Jong-Koo Yang yjongk@donga.com