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Female Boxer Bloodies Her Way to 4th World Title

Posted September. 13, 2010 11:54,   

한국어

Female boxer Kim Ju-hee added a fourth world title Sunday by beating Jujeath Nagawa of the Philippines in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, for the vacant World Boxing Federation title.

In September last year, Kim won the Women’s International Boxing Association, the Women’s International Boxing Federation and the Global Boxing Union belts after a win over Papratan Luksaikong of Thailand.

She took a beating against Nagawa but earned a majority decision and the WBF crown to hold four belts simultaneously.

Kim’s victory seems all the more impressive considering that she was almost forced to give up the sport due to a foot injury.

In November 2006, she underwent surgery due to osteomyelitis and had part of the big toe on her right foot cut off. At the time, she heard from the doctor who performed the surgery that her pro boxing career was over, which was a complete shock to her.

Kim was stripped of her International Female Boxers Association title because she could not defend her belt due to the surgery. At the time, few expected her to continue boxing.

Known for her high persistence and intense training as evidenced by her comment, “Sweat feels sweet,” she has made an incredible comeback. She defeated Yuki Sakurada of Japan by technical knockout in August 2007 to win the World Boxing Association’s light flyweight title nine months after her surgery.

Kim faced misfortune again, however, being forced to surrender her WBA title because she failed to find a sponsor to hold her title defense. She did not give up though and won three belts by beating Luksaikong last year.

Instead of taking a moment to enjoy her victory Sunday, she simply renewed her commitment to winning another title. "I’ll seek to win the World Boxing Council title as early as next year," she said.

The WBC belt remains the sole title Kim has not won from among the world’s seven women’s pro boxing organizations.



wing@donga.com