Miyo Yoshida Wins IBF Bantamweight World Title in San Francisco

By David A. Avila

Sometimes gambling pays off.

Miyo Yoshida accepted a fight with less than two weeks-notice against IBF bantamweight world champion Ebanie Bridges and fought the perfect storm in dethroning the Aussie favorite by unanimous decision on Saturday.

“I always respected Ebanie,” said Yoshida. “She is a great champion.”

Japan’s Yoshida (17-4) picked up her third world title and used that experience to defeat the powerful “Blonde Bomber” Bridges (9-2, 4 Kos) in front of more than 10,000 fans at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif.

Yoshida is now the IBF bantamweight titlist and a two-division world champion.

After a first round that saw both fighters measuring each other at a distance, the second round opened up the fight to an inside whirlpool of punching. It never stopped.

Australia’s Bridges established in her last fight against fellow Aussie Shannon McDonnell that despite two-minute rounds, she could deliver a power knockout. She barged in with her head down punching with both hands primarily to the body.

It was a method that worked before but to Japan’s Yoshida, that style is common in her native country where aggressive boxing is preferred. She adapted.

“It became a war, so I decided to put everything to her,” Yoshida said.

Using her left jab as a measuring stick to both stop Bridges from charging in too far, Yoshida was able to connect with overhand rights and uppercuts. It was a tactic that paid off round after round.

Bridges had not fought in a year and the lengthy time away from the boxing ring seemed to show immediately. But though she was absorbing rights over and over she continued to charge forward while targeting the body.

It should have worked.

Yoshida had lost her last fight less than a month ago, in a close fight that was scored badly by two judges in New York. In this fight, the obvious punches landed were coming from the Japanese fighter who had previously held the super flyweight world title on two occasions.

Bridges never quit trying to power her way through the fight by attacking the body and head. But the clear right hands landed by Yoshida were too difficult to ignore by the judges. Bridges head snapped back violently many times, but she valiantly kept battling round after round.

Though Yoshida had only a few weeks to prepare, she never left the gym and was in good enough shape to maintain energy and finish the fight. Sure enough her right cross landed in almost every round like a laser beam.

After 10 rounds all three judges scored it in favor of Yoshida 99-91 twice and 97-93.

Tears ran down Yoshida’s face as her daughter ran into the prize ring and clasped her mother’s waist tightly. The thankful new champion, a single mother, addressed other single mothers to keep the faith.

“I want to encourage you to not give up,” said Yoshida.