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Miyo Yoshida Prepared To Make
History This Saturday In Texas
Multiple World Champion Miyo Yoshida (19-5, 1 KO) can join
an exclusive club this Sunday night, if she defeats
defending World Boxing Council (WBC) Super Bantamweight
World Champion Skye Nicolson in a ten-round title fight on
“MVP 07,” airing live on ESPN from Arlington, Texas.
The 38-year-old Yoshida is among only 23 female world
champions from Japan and only the sixth to hold world titles
in multiple divisions. Yoshida is a 3-time, 2-division world
champion who has held the World Boxing Organization (WBO)
Super Flyweight crown twice, as well as the International
Boxing Federation (IBF) Bantamweight World title belt.
If she defeats Nicolson, who fights out of Australia,
Yoshida will join Etsudo Tada (20-4-2, 7 KOs), and Yuko
Kuroki (25-9-2, 10 KOs) as 4-time women’s world champions
from Japan. The great Naoko Fujioka (19-3-1, 7 KOs) is the
all-time Japanese female leader with 5 world titles.
“Naoko Fujioka is an incredible champion who made history in
Japanese women’s boxing,” Yoshida said. “Becoming a
3-division world champion to add my name to that history
would be tremendous. It’s not for me to decide where I rank
all-time or what position I hold in Japanese women’s
history.
“I moved to Hawaii when I was 20 and began my fighting
career in MMA and kickboxing. I switched to boxing at 26,
gave birth at 27, and without any amateur boxing experience,
I fully returned to the sport after becoming a mother and
went on to become a world champion. Later, I moved to New
York City with my daughter and won another world title in
the United States. I recognize my career has been pretty
unconventional and that’s why I didn’t need to follow the
same path as anyone else. I didn’t take the traditional path
because I’ve always been something of an outsider.”
Yoshida, known as the "Fighting Single Mother" in Japan, is
a respected role model and recipient of Ring Magazine's 2023
Most Inspirational Female Fighter award.
“A victory would make Miyo a 4-time world champion across
three weight divisions, an achievement that would strengthen
her place among Japan’s greatest female fighters,” Yoshida’s
manager Keith Sullivan added. “Winning world titles from
super flyweight through super bantamweight speaks to her
skill, adaptability and extraordinary determination. For
Miyo, this is a chance to turn an already remarkable career
into a lasting legacy and show her daughter, and young women
everywhere, how far courage and perseverance can take you.”
A former New York State Athletic Commission Deputy
Commissioner, Sullivan also manages undefeated Brooklyn
heavyweight prospect Pryce Taylor (13-0, 8 KOs), Albanian
heavyweight Kristian Prenga (21-2, 21 KOs), Serbian
heavyweight Sanel Hasanovic (11-1-1, 9 KOs), undefeated
Staten Island light heavyweight prospect Arjan Iseni (6-0, 5
KOs), Bronx NYPD officer Nisa Rodriguez (4-1, 2
KOs),lightweight Fei Faiva (6-0-1, 4 KOs) and junior
featherweight prospect Brooklyn “The Big Deal” Barwick (5-1,
5 KOs). Sullivan also co-manages IBF Welterweight World
title challenger Paddy “The Real Deal” Donovan (16-2, 12
KOs) and his cousin, middleweight Jim Donovan (2-0, 1 KO),
alongside coach and ex-world champion Andy Lee.
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