A “Fighting Single Mother” Reveals the Struggles of a Japanese Boxer in the U.S.

Appeal against the judges

IBF Women’s World Bantamweight Champion Saneyo Yoshida (36) was confident of victory.

On October 23 (local time) at a packed Madison Square Garden in New York City, Yoshida responded to the cheers of her fans by raising her hands in the air after 10 rounds. Her fellow “TEAM MIYO” fighters waiting at ringside in the red corner welcomed her with high-fives, and she looked very pleased with herself.

Meanwhile, the challenger Shretta Metcalf’s camp looked tense and not smiling. But all the referee could hear was the 3-0 decision and the referee’s call for the birth of a new champion. Yoshida’s first defense of his title was lost as the crowd booed loudly.

Three weeks after the match, Yoshida temporarily returned to Japan. Yoshida lost the match despite hitting a number of effective blows. Yoshida expressed his feelings about the unexpected outcome.

The referee congratulated me after 10 rounds and told me to bring my daughter into the ring. I wasn’t getting punched at all by my opponent. That’s why I lost the decision. Some judges gave me a big margin, so I feel like there was a point in doing (this fight). Right now, I am appealing to the judges and awaiting the results.

In fact, the commentators on the U.S. TV program that broadcast the fight were also calling for Yoshida’s victory. The live camera also followed Yoshida throughout the fight, as he finished the final round. Yoshida’s victory seemed unassailable.

The video may not show it clearly, but after the decision, there was a lot of booing, and the venue was filled with an atmosphere of disquiet. Actually, I felt the same unnaturalness in the judgment of the previous match. This time, I filed a complaint with the New York State Athletic Commission (the governing body for boxing and other combat sports), saying, ‘Please give me a just decision after changing the referee and judges.

However, I am not a U.S. citizen. I cannot say that there is no possibility that I will be treated unfairly because I am Japanese. That is why I was prepared to take all possible measures. Everyone on the team is shocked at the result, saying that we were not aware of the situation. ……

Suffering of Japanese Boxers in the U.S.

Compared to Japan, the U.S. boxing world is said to place more importance on audience attraction and entertainment factors. For Metcalf, the fight with Yoshida was his biggest chance to be on top of the world for the first time.

Metcalf told the local media that he would be willing to fight Yoshida again, but Yoshida is not willing to comply because “he is asking for a big amount of money as fight money.

Yoshida, a single mother, moved to New York about two years ago with her young daughter.

She says, “After looking around for a promoter, I met Lou DiBella. I signed with him and was able to relocate to the U.S. on an athlete’s visa.”

Lou DiBella is a big promoter who has produced numerous world champions. DiBella said he saw Yoshida’s potential and offered her certain conditions.

One of them was that I should move to the United States with my daughter,” he said. He told me that I should not go back and forth between Japan and the U.S., that I should not be halfway between the two. He told me that I should not be halfway between Japan and the U.S. I should settle down in New York with my daughter. He also said that if I was willing to settle in New York with my daughter, he would give me a visa. Another condition was that I leave the JBC (Japan Boxing Commission).

Yoshida, who belonged to the Misako Gym in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward at the time, terminated his contract with the gym and left the JBC. This was a challenge to which he had no recourse. The title he lost this time was the one he won after moving to the United States last December.

Life is a series of absurdities,” he said. There are good things and bad things. I can’t say that there is no discrimination against Asians. To make it as a Japanese boxer in the U.S., hard work alone is not enough. So, instead of just trying your best, you have to say that something is not right.

I want to build an environment where I will be evaluated fairly, which is not a guide for Japanese boxers competing overseas from now on. I am 36 years old and my time limit as a boxer is approaching, but I am going to start working toward becoming a world champion for the fourth time in ’25.

Yoshida has risen from the defeat and has begun to move forward once again.