DAY TWO of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2025 saw another series of contentious stoppages take place in Niš, Serbia.
It has become an almost rinse and repeat mission for the referees at this year’s tournament, with four finishes, in particular, raising several eyebrows during yesterday’s afternoon session.
Seemingly, once a fighter lands their first clean shot of the bout, the referee will swiftly interject and issue a standing count.
Knowing that they are trailing behind, the fighter’s opponent is then likely to abandon their game plan and instead go for the jugular, leaving themselves exposed to more counters, and indeed more knockdowns, as a result.
Of course, with amateur boxing being a points-driven sport, it is not unusual to see such premature stoppages.
But still, there is nonetheless a sense that, even for the amateurs, the referees have been particularly hasty with some of their calls.
There was, however, one stoppage that no one could have argued with, as Serbia’s Kristina Kulukhova put on a punishing display, hurting her Zimbabwean opponent multiple times, to halt their truly one-sided light-welterweight bout in emphatic fashion.
Wins inside the distance for Mexico’s Ingrid Galica, Turky’s Nurselen Yalgettekin and Russia’s Yulia Chumgalakova, too, saw all three minimumweights sail through to the round of 16.
Elsewhere in the sport’s lowest division, China’s Xueyun Zhong and Valenzuela’s Tayonis Cedeno both secured victories on points.
Up at bantamweight, meanwhile, Moldova’s Iulia Coroli – who was originally down 3-2 on the judges’ scorecards – edged a razor thin 4-3 decision after two extra officials were drafted in for a bout review.
Further wins for Romania’s Diana Maria Andor, Thailand’s Chongprongklang, Azerbaijan’s Zeynab Rahimova, Turky’s Hatice Akbas, Russia’s Karina Tazabekova, Vietnam’s Thi Kim Anh Vo, Puerto Rico’s Angelyris Mendez and DR Korea’s Jinhyang Paek then saw even more success at 54kg.
One of the evening session’s highlights then emerged when Mexican flyweight Esmeralda Juarez collided with Kazakhstan’s Anita Adisheva in a fiercely contested battle.
Despite suffering a standing count – which, in truth, was an egregious call from the referee – Juarez claimed a much deserved split decision victory, representing just one of several Mexican fighters who have already shone brightly.
The next standout performance arrived when China’s promising flyweight, Sitong Wei, danced rings around her more static opponent, establishing herself as a dark horse at this year’s tournament.
Another noteworthy bout – this time, for all the wrong reasons – saw Russian flyweight Anna Aedma bulldoze her way, leading mostly with her head, towards a stoppage victory after opening a cut on the bridge of her opponent’s nose.
As for the Irish team, it has been far from a successful start to the tournament, with seasoned featherweight Michaela Walsh, for instance, losing 5-0 to Serbia’s Andjela Brankovic.
With Ireland’s Daina Moorehouse competing in the light-flyweight division later today, though, perhaps the best is still yet to come.
