Former two-division champion Miyo Yoshida returns to the ring in an eight-rounder on Saturday (February 1).
Following her contentious loss to bantamweight champion Shurretta Metcalf last October, the 17-5 Yoshida will fight in an eight-rounder at Newark’s Prudential Center against Slovakia’s Beata Dudek, 5-5 (4 KOs).
After her defeat to Metcalf, Yoshida’s manager, New York-based lawyer Keith Sullivan, filed an appeal to the IBF, proposing a rematch. The governing body retained her position as the No. 1 contender, and then said Metcalf should defend against Yoshida.
“I am very grateful to the IBF and my manager, Mr. Sullivan,” Yoshida said. “Looking back at the last match, I am horrified by the scoring results, especially [the] 99-91 [scorecard]. We had an excellent game plan to address the height and reach advantage of my opponent and we were faulted by the judges for executing it perfectly.”
Yoshida said last year, inactivity did not help her, so she wants to stay busy in 2025. That is where Dudek comes into it.
“Last year. I only fought one match,” Yoshida added. “There was a gap between matches. In order to be in top condition, I want to fight consistently, and I’ll definitely be ready to win this match. My opponent is one weight class higher and the same height as Metcalf. So, I wanted this fight for those reasons, a bigger and taller opponent to prepare me for the rematch. Dudek is an opponent not to be underestimated. I have been training hard to keep up my spirits. I started fighting at flyweight and this will be my first time fighting at 121 pounds, but I’ve braced myself for it.”
Yoshida is trained by Jimmy Sosa, along with his brother Aurelino, and conditioning coach, Sergiy Korchynskyy.
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