Yoshida showcased her vicious upside by defeating Casey Morton Croft to win the vacant WBO junior bantamweight title in June 2019. (Photo by Naoki Fukuda)
Miyo Yoshida will make the first defense of her IBF bantamweight title on October 23 when she faces Shurretta Metcalf on October 23 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The fight, which will headline a card presented by DiBella Entertainment, will be a rematch of their 2023 fight in which Metcalf scored a decisive unanimous decision victory. Since then, the former two-time WBO junior bantamweight titleholder has become a world champion in a second division, winning a wide unanimous decision over Ebanie Bridges last December to lift the title.
Now trained by Aureliano Sosa, Yoshida (17-4) looks to settle the score with her rival from Dallas, Texas.
“I’m eager to get revenge against Metcalf,” said Yoshida, a native of Kagoshima, Japan, who is now based in New York City. “Just weeks before the fight against Ebanie, I joined Sosa Crew and have been training well with them ever since. There’s a lot of pressure on me heading into this rematch, but I’m looking forward to seeing how much I’ve grown over the past year.
“I didn’t have a detailed strategy last time,” she continued. “I couldn’t handle the unexpected movements. I thought it was a close battle. The result was a decision loss, but I learned the importance of scoring. I’m burning for revenge and I’m sure I’ll win.”
Yoshida turned pro in Tokyo in 2014 and won her first world title in 2019 when she defeated Casey Morton by unanimous decision. She made one successful defense before losing the title to Tomoko Okuda by technical decision the following year. Yoshida won the title back in 2021 in a rematch, but lost it in her first defense by split decision to Tamao Ozawa.
Metcalf (13-4-1, 2 KOs) is on a three-fight winning streak, although the 39-year-old has not fought since the first Yoshida fight. Metcalf was previously the first boxer to defeat Melissa Oddessa Parker and will fight for a world title for the first time.
“It’s something I’ve worked hard for and I’ll finally get the opportunity I deserve. I beat Yoshida last time and will come out on top again to become a world champion,” said Metcalf.
The show, titled “Heroes On The Hudson 2,” will benefit a number of organizations associated with the U.S. military, with a portion of the event’s proceeds being donated to West Point Society of New York, Merging Vets & Players . and The Headstrong Project.
