News
DAN-BI KIM WINS FIRST TITLE DEFENSE
A new year for Women’s boxing began in South Korea. In the small country town of Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, the crisp bite of winter could still be felt as the spectators gathered to see the petite Dan Bi Kim defend her IFBA Mini Flyweight division against the much taller Japanese fighter Satoko Kamimura.
The usual first round feeling out began with Dan Bi showing that she was planning to do a lot of head movement to counter Satoko’s long, lanky reach. Using the occasional body shot to wear down her opponent, Dan Bi was awarded the first two rounds by the judges.
In the third, Satoko found her range and was able to get in some jabs and straight lefts, but not enough to deter Dan Bi as the champ walks through the occasional snappy jab.
Satako won the fifth round when it seemed Dan Bi took a little break to save herself for the second half of the fight.
Dan Bi unanimously won the sixth round. She was determined to close the distance with head movement, then jumped her way in with hooks to the head and body.
Dan Bi’s aggressiveness gave her the edge on the scorecards for most of the later rounds. As fatigue set in, there was a lot of crowding and hugging.
Satoko fought an honorable match, but couldn’t rally enough excitement to steal many rounds from the title holder.
Overall, this was a good fight for Dan Bi, who is still gaining experience and improving her skills. It was a great tune-up for her mandatory title defense later on in the year.
Final scores: (97-96), (97-93), (96-94)
