Dina Thorslund made sure that only one bantamweight title would change hands this week.
The fighting pride of Scandinavia retained her WBC/WBO bantamweight titles on Friday, defeating Terumi Nuki by unanimous decision at Graakjaer Arena in Holstebro, just 15 minutes from her home in Struer, Denmark. All three judges scored the fight 99-91, marking her third successful defense of the unified 118-pound title and eighth title defense overall.
From the outset, it was clear that the 31-year-old Thorslund (23-0, 9 KOs) had the better technique, landing her combinations and using her footwork to get out of harm’s way from the return fire of Nuki (15). -6, 10 KOs), a determined but outstanding challenger from Kobe, Japan. There were no takedowns, though Thorslund stunned Nuki with an uppercut once in the fourth round.
The loss leaves Nuki 0-4 in world title fights, and a three-fight winning streak for the 36-year-old.
The victory leaves very little for Thorslund to achieve, although she told reporters afterwards that a showdown with former IBF featherweight titleholder and fellow Dane Sarah Mahfoud (14-2, 3 KOs) would be an interesting matchup be to make According to Danish outlet DR.dk, Thorslund has a tentative agreement to compete in an international tournament next year, although details of the tournament have not been disclosed.
The Thorslund-Nuki fight is believed to be Thorslund’s last on home soil, although she says that it may have been her last fight ever if that tournament didn’t happen.
“For five or six years I said I was going to quit soon. But now I’m at a place in my life where I’m ready for it. For nine years I’ve been delineating my ass as a professional, and it always comes at the expense of something else, and that’s life,” Thorslund told DR.dk.
The bout was the second women’s bantamweight title bout this week, after that Shurretta Metcalf’s unanimous decision win Wednesday over Miyo Yoshida to lift the IBF 118-pound title in New York.
