Boxer Huang Hsiao-wen has struggled this year, but her gold medal at the World Boxing Championships on Sunday should put to rest any doubts that she might be past her prime, her coach Liu Tsung-tai said.
Huang defeated Yoseline Perez of the US in Liverpool, England, winning 4-1 in the women’s 54kg division final of the championships to become the first Taiwanese boxer to achieve that feat three times.
She broke into tears when she heard the decision, collapsed to the ground, and covered her face in her hands following a medal-less year leading up to the tournament.
Photo courtesy of Liu Tsung-tai via CNA
“This gold medal was really hard-fought, especially because boxing was almost excluded from the Olympic Games,” Liu said after the bout. “Hsiao-wen has won three world championship golds in six years. Now no one can say she won them by sheer luck.”
This tournament was the inaugural edition of World Boxing’s world championships. Huang’s first two titles came in 2019 and 2023 at the International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships.
World Boxing is the new international body for Olympic-style boxing, provisionally recognized by the International Olympic Committee, after the IBA lost credibility due to governance, financial and ethical issues, including alleged ties to the Russian government.
In addition to her struggles this year, Liu’s remark might have also alluded to Huang’s first-round exit from the Paris Games, a big disappointment after she won a bronze at the Tokyo Games in 2021, Taiwan’s first Olympic boxing medal.
Liu attributed Huang’s triumph to her aggressive third round against Perez.
“I told Hsiao-wen the bout was all about the third round. Her opponent’s punches were heavy and could be very effective if they landed, so I told her she had to go on the attack,” he said.
The 28-year-old Huang and Perez were even after the first two rounds, but the Taiwanese edged past the American in the final round to win the bout 29-28 on the scorecards of four of the five judges. One of the judges, from Guatemala, had Perez the winner by 30-27.
Huang said that she had fought through great pain as she sought the gold.
She said that she had hurt her right thumb on the final day of her training camp in South Korea last month, and with the swelling in her thumb worsening, her only option was to persevere as she prepared for the World Boxing Championships.
“At one point the doctors even pricked seven holes in my thumb to drain blood and reduce the swelling. I’ve always been terrified of needles, so I screamed nonstop during every treatment,” Huang said of her treatment at the National Sports Training Center.
She said that during the tournament, she had to take painkillers every day, and that she was anxious about it until just before stepping into the ring on Sunday.
“I had worried about hurting my right thumb again during the bouts. It wasn’t until before the final bout that I told myself: ‘Let’s forget about it. It’s the last bout. If it breaks, it breaks.’”
Huang said the gold medal has greatly boosted her confidence, but she added that this was not the end.
“Now everyone knows my style and will study me closely. I have to keep improving,” she said.
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