Tears After Missing World Championship... Seoryeokyung "I Will Do My Best as a Boxer and Doctor"

Tied After Intense 10-Round Match
Likely to Affect Major World Championship Challenge
Tears of Regret... "Will Do My Best as Boxer and Doctor"

'Doctor Boxer' Seo Ryeo-kyung (33, Cheonan Bit Son Jeong-o Boxing) recorded a draw in the women's boxing world champion title match, postponing her goal of becoming the 'world's first active doctor boxing world champion.'

Doctor boxer Seoryeokyeong (left) is competing against Japanese-born Yoshikawa Riyuna in the Women's International Boxing Association (WIBA) minimum weight class (47.6kg) world title match held on the 16th at the Grand Ballroom of the Swiss Grand Hotel in Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

Seo Ryeo-kyung, a professor of pediatrics at Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital and the professional boxing women's light flyweight Korean champion, faced Yoshikawa Ryuuna (22, Diamante Boxing Gym, Japan), a former World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia Pacific champion, in the Women's International Boxing Association (WIBA) minimumweight (47.6kg) world title fight held on the 16th at the Grand Ballroom of the Swiss Grand Hotel in Seoul. The match ended in a draw. Among the three judges, one scored it 95-95, another gave Seo a 96-95 win, and the remaining judge scored 94-96 in favor of Yoshikawa.

The Japan-Korea match was fiercely contested from the 1st to the 10th round. From the early moments of the 1st round, the two fighters exchanged punches at close range and continued to throw punches relentlessly until the end of the 10th round. Hundreds of fans present at the venue cheered as they watched the two athletes compete.

During the match, Seo Ryeo-kyung, who had a physical advantage, extended her arms to land punches on Yoshikawa, while Yoshikawa penetrated inside to deliver powerful blows to Seo’s body and face. Seo, known for her strong punching power, had achieved four consecutive KO wins before facing Yoshikawa, but was stopped by Yoshikawa’s solid defense, resulting in a 10-round fight with no clear winner.

Originally, Seo planned to challenge for one of the four major boxing world titles (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO) around June this year after winning the WIBA minimumweight world championship in this match. Due to the draw, adjustments to her future plans seem inevitable.

On the 16th, the Women's International Boxing Association (WIBA) minimumweight (47.6kg) world title match was held at the Grand Ballroom of the Swiss Grand Hotel in Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

Although she narrowly missed becoming a world champion, Seo maintained her undefeated record (9 fights: 7 wins, 2 draws) with the draw. Previously, in July last year, Seo became the KBM (Korea Boxing Commission) women's light flyweight champion domestically, and in December of the same year, she secured a 3rd-round TKO victory over Kulathida Kuesanol (Thailand) in a prelude to the world title fight. Yoshikawa, Seo’s opponent in this match, now holds a record of 10 fights: 6 wins (1 KO), 2 losses, and 2 draws.

'Doctor Boxer' Seo Ryeo-kyung began boxing in 2018 to relieve stress from her hospital work, debuting professionally in 2019 with her powerful punching ability. She currently works in the pediatric emergency room at Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, balancing her daytime role as a pediatrician with training as a professional boxer at the gym after work. Ahead of this match, she described her training intensity by saying, "There is hardly any part of my body that doesn’t hurt."

Seo, who missed the world champion title right before her eyes, shed tears of regret during an interview with the press after the match.

Seo said, "I feel disappointed that I couldn’t show everything I had prepared as much as I thought," adding, "It was a good experience to be able to compete against a great athlete in a wonderful match." She continued, "I will do my best both as an athlete and as a doctor. I hope that this kind of challenge can be a source of strength for people living their daily lives."