'4 Consecutive KOs' Doctor Boxer to Challenge World Title in March... Who Is the Opponent?

"World's First Active Physician Boxing Champion Challenge"
Recent 4 Consecutive KO Wins... First Korean Female Boxer

Seo Ryeo-kyung (32), a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescents at Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital and the first active-duty doctor to become a Korean women's boxing champion, will challenge for a world title in March.

Professor Seoryeokyung
[Photo by Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital]

Seo Ryeo-kyung will face Japan's Yoshikawa Riyuna (22) on March 16 at the Grand Ballroom of the Swiss Grand Hotel in Seoul for the WIBA (Women's International Boxing Association) minimumweight (47.6 kg) world championship title.

Seo became the KBM (Korea Boxing Commission) women's light flyweight champion, a domestic professional boxing organization, in July last year. Then, in December, as a preliminary match for the world title fight, she won by TKO just 15 seconds into the start of the third round against Kulathida Kuesanol from Thailand. TKO stands for Technical Knockout, declared when the referee judges that continuing the match is impossible.

With this victory, Seo Ryeo-kyung extended her professional record to 7 wins (4 KOs), 1 draw in 8 matches, maintaining an undefeated streak. Notably, she recorded four consecutive KO wins recently, a first for a Korean female boxer. Her opponent, Yoshikawa, is a short-statured infighter and a former WBO Asia Pacific champion.

The KBM, which organizes the event, stated, "If Seo wins this match, it will be the first case in professional boxing history where an active-duty doctor becomes a world champion." The event is jointly hosted by DND Promotion and BM Promotion, supervised by KBM, and will be broadcast live on the tvN Sports channel from 5 p.m. on March 16.

Meanwhile, Seo Ryeo-kyung, an active pediatrician, became a hot topic as a "doctor boxer" after winning the KBM women's light flyweight Korean championship in July last year. It is known that she started boxing in 2019 at the recommendation of a senior doctor.

Professor Seoryeokyung, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescents at Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, is seen conducting a medical examination
Photo by Yonhap News

In an interview with a media outlet, Seo said, "The stress from the pressure and tension in the neonatal intensive care unit, where sick newborns are gathered and anything can happen, is considerable, but I relieve it through boxing," adding, "When a straight punch lands cleanly in the ring, my stress completely melts away."

Also, in August last year, she appeared on the tvN variety show 'You Quiz on the Block' and said, "My original goal was not to become a champion, but when I decided to become a player, I thought I should become a champion."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.