On May 17 (Japan time: May 18), WBO Women’s World Super Flyweight Champion Mizuki Hiruta (Misako Gym), who holds a perfect record of 7 wins (2 KOs), competed at the 360 Promotions event hosted by Tom Loeffler at The Commerce Casino & Hotel in Commerce, California. She faced a challenge from the division’s No. 1 ranked mandatory contender, Carla Merino of Argentina, who entered the bout with a record of 16 wins (4 KOs) and 2 losses.
The 25-year-old Merino was making her first attempt at a world title and fighting outside her home country for the first time.
For her second appearance in a U.S. ring, Hiruta entered in a flamboyant costume.
Seated ringside were Takashi Misako, president of the Misako Gym, and Kenshiro Teraji (BMB), the reigning WBA and WBC World Flyweight Champion.
Both fighters started cautiously, probing each other to gauge their opponent’s strategy. The southpaw Hiruta used quick footwork to find the right timing for her straight left, while Merino looked for an opening to land her left hook.
In the fourth round, Hiruta picked up the pace. She began connecting her jab to the straight left and, for the first time in the fight, unleashed a combination, clearly taking control and scoring points.
In the fifth round, Hiruta continued to control the distance with her jab, landing straight lefts and right hooks. Merino struggled to keep up with Hiruta’s speed and couldn’t find any opportunities to go on the offensive.
In the seventh round, Hiruta trapped Merino in the corner and unleashed a flurry of punches, landing straight lefts and uppercuts.
Merino responded with a straight right, showing determined resistance, but she was unable to find a way to mount a meaningful counterattack as the rounds went on.
Even in the later rounds, Hiruta continued to control the fight by initiating attacks off her jab. Merino, stuck on the defensive, was unable to close the distance on Hiruta and kept getting caught by straight punches, steadily losing points as the fight progressed.
The fight came to an end. The winner: Hiruta.
Upon being declared the winner, “MIMI” let out a triumphant roar. The referee was Thomas Taylor (USA).
The official scores were Rudy Barragan (USA) 98-92, Fernando Villarreal (USA) 99-91, and Ivan Guillermo (USA) 98-92 — all wide in favor of Hiruta.
In the post-fight interview, “MIMI” Hiruta responded entirely in English, expressing her joy: “I’m so happy to be back here again. Thank you to all the fans for coming. I’m so happy,” she said, celebrating her victory.
“Thank you very much & ¡Muchos gracias!”
Shouting “No pasa nada” (“It’s no big deal”), “MIMI” Hiruta celebrated with a backflip.
Team Hiruta posed for a commemorative victory photo, with 360 Promotions president Tom Loeffler standing at the center. Loeffler, who organized the event, is the former head of K2 Promotions—the U.S. promotional company for the Klitschko brothers—and is known for promoting Gennadiy Golovkin (Kazakhstan), helping him rise to stardom in the U.S. despite being relatively unknown there at the time.
Having now secured back-to-back wins on Loeffler’s cards, Hiruta commented through the Misako Gym:
“I’m relieved to have won safely. I’ll keep training hard so I can make an even bigger impact on the world stage! Thank you all for your support! No pasa nada!!”
With her long-awaited U.S. debut now accomplished, the spotlight is on just how far “MIMI” can climb from here.
We’ve entered an era where Japanese female boxers can also thrive on the American stage!
This article has been translated and published with permission from BOXING MASTER.
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