By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Sumio Yamada

37-year-old schoolteacher Tomoko Okuda (7-2-2, 1 KO), 115, captured the WBO female 115-pound belt as she was awarded a unanimous technical decision (59-54 twice, 57-56) over defending champ and compatriot Miyo Yoshida (14-2, no KO), 114.5, upon Okuda’s incapability of going on with a bad gash over the right eyebrow at 1:38 of the sixth round on Sunday in Osaka, Japan.

Having been a judoist at Ritsumeikan University to be a physical director, Okuda started to learn how to box at the age of thirty at Mitsuki Gym in Osaka.

The taller challenger caught the champ, 32, with a quick left-right in the opening session, and went to maintain the initiative thereafter. Yoshida, making his second defense, attempted to mix it up in the close quarter, but Okuda made good use of her long arms to grab the champ and avert her retaliation. The fifth saw Okuda sustain a cut over the right optic by an accidental butt, and she became unable to go on with more bleeding midway in round six.

The schoolteacher said, “It’s like a dream come true.” The dethroned champ, crying over her forfeiture of the belt in the dressing room, deserves a rematch since she was trying to fight back to overcome her early deficits on points and keep her belt.

Promoter: Mitsuki Promotions.

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