Philippines, 21 May 2026
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


World medallists begin campaigns successfully on day one at IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Niš

PhilBoxing.com




Niš, Serbia – Two-time World medallist Alua Balkibekova from Kazakhstan started her campaign for a gold medal positively, with victory over Kenya’s Veronica Mbithe in the opening session of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Niš, Serbia.

The two-time Asian champion was made to work hard for the win in the 50kg category, as the Kazakh faced the spritely Kenyan, who refused to slow down. Only close to the end, Balkibekova caused a count against her opponent, further cementing her lead. The 29-year-old has won silver and bronze at the past two World Championships and will now be looking to complete the set with gold in 2025.

The first match of the IBA World Championships was contested between Fatima Herrera of Mexico and the home favorite, Sanja Mitic, also in the 50kg division. During the second round, Herrera looked comfortable with the cleaner shots. The third round saw the Mexican as the clear winner and with that, a unanimous decision in favor of the visitor.

Elsewhere in the weight category, a ferocious pace was set from the start between An Kum Byol of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Alondra Brito from Venezuela. The North Korean was more aggressive of the pair and looked very dangerous, particularly in the opening round. As the match continued, Brito’s quality improved close, but An was able to garner favor with the majority of judges, winning on a 3-2 split decision, confirmed by a bout review – 2-0.

Aysen Taskin from Türkiye earned a second-round stoppage victory over Ethiopia’s Wakjira Wada. The Ethiopian was on the wrong end of two standing counts at the end of round one, and a third would come in the second round, which was enough for the referee to intervene.

Colombian Yerlin Isaura Quinones scored a second-round win by referee’s stoppage against Teona Pirosmanashvili of Georgia, who was counted by the referee on three occasions in round two.

Azerbaijan’s Marjona Savriyeva progressed too after a second-round knee injury to Romanian Mihaela Badescu forced the contest to end early.

Two matches took place in the 60kg weight category, with DPR Korea defeating Venezuela for the second time in the session. This time, Won Un Gyong was the unanimous victor over Krisandy Rios. The victory, much like her compatriot earlier in the evening, came out of the gates fast, but the Venezuelan looked better in the second round. The contest looked close until the final minute when Won started to dominate, giving her the decisive nod in round three.

Also through in the tournament is Elida Kocharyan from Armenia, beating Claudia Nechita from Romania. After a close first round, Kocharyan landed a lovely right hand to drop the Romanian and face a count of eight. While Nechita still looked lively, the Armenian was now firmly in control and going on to win by a unanimous decision.

The last two bouts of the night featured boxers in the +81kg category, with the first being a rematch of the Asian Championships final in December 2024. Once again, it was Yeldana Talipova of Kazakhstan who emerged victorious by unanimous decision over Oltinoy Sotimboeva from Uzbekistan.

The final fight of the night saw Elif Guneri start her quest for a sixth world medal with a victory over Judy Bobbett of Ireland. The Turkish boxer, who has one silver and four bronze medals to her name, was the comfortable winner. Guneri, who has boxed at 81kg for most of her career, recently moved into the +81kg weight division.

Action continues tomorrow with two sessions at the Čair Sports Complex.

IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2025 is live-streamed fully on the IBA YouTube channel. All draws, schedules and results are available on IBA website. Photos can be found on IBA Flickr channel.




Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • JONES VS. GUALTIERI FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE
    , Thu, 21 May 2026
  • Round 12 with Mauricio Sulaiman: From Madrid to Johannesburg – The Legacy of the WBC in South Africa
    By Mauricio Sulaimán, , Thu, 21 May 2026
  • TYSON VS. MAYWEATHER EXHIBITION IS ON— TYSON BROKEN HAND PUSHES EVENT FROM SPRING TO FALL OF 2026
    , Thu, 21 May 2026
  • Three Lions Promotions Building pro boxing back to Glory days in Metro Vancouver
    , Thu, 21 May 2026
  • Jenn Perella shines, Bobby Laing stops Russ Kimber in 1st round
    , Thu, 21 May 2026
  • TRAINING CAMP NOTES: Gustavo Trujillo Looks to Continue his Rise in the Heavyweight Division
    , Thu, 21 May 2026
  • Filipino Francisco "Django" Bustamante rules 2026 Buffalo’s Pro Classic 1 Ball One Pocket Division
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Thu, 21 May 2026
  • USA Boxing Elite High Performance Squad Secures Eight More Victories on Day Three of 2026 Copa America
    , Thu, 21 May 2026
  • THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 19 MAY 2026: Davis Outpoints Albright; Kuse Dethrones Jerusalem; Donovan Defeats Chukhadzhian; Hrgovic Stops Allen
    By Eric Armit, , Wed, 20 May 2026
  • 2026 NBA Playoffs: Knicks Rally from 22 Points Down to Beat Cavs 115-104 in OT
    By Reylan Loberternos, , Wed, 20 May 2026
  • Filipino grabs second place in the National Canada Chess Challenge 2026
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Wed, 20 May 2026
  • Spotlight on Mexico City: boxers speak ahead of IBA Pro 18
    , Wed, 20 May 2026
  • 2026 NBA Playoffs: Wembanyama Outshines MVP Gilgeous-Alexander as Spurs Beat Thunder 122-115 in Double Overtime Thriller
    By Reylan Loberternos, , Wed, 20 May 2026
  • 0 MUST GO: SELDON JR. vs. POPPER — JUNE 13 AT THE TROP
    , Wed, 20 May 2026
  • CARL “THE COBRA” FROCH REUNITES WITH ANDRE WARD ON ART OF WARD FOR FIRST IN-DEPTH SIT-DOWN SINCE THEIR LEGENDARY SUPER SIX FINAL
    , Wed, 20 May 2026
  • BOXING LEGEND DARREN BARKER ANNOUNCES 'THE LONGEST ROUND' – A WORLD-FIRST ENDURANCE CHALLENGE FOR MEN'S MENTAL HEALTH
    , Wed, 20 May 2026
  • IBA stands ready to organise Jon Jones professional boxing fight in Russia
    , Wed, 20 May 2026
  • USA Boxing Elite High Performance Squad Earns Eight More Wins on Day Two at 2026 Copa America
    , Wed, 20 May 2026
  • QC ends PCAP Season 6 All-Filipino conference campaign
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Wed, 20 May 2026
  • It’s in the blood
    By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 19 May 2026
  • “The fans will be the true winners” – Angel Ayala ready for IBA PRO 18 in Mexico City
    , Tue, 19 May 2026
  • Rematch option for Melvin
    By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 19 May 2026
  • World-class stablemates John ‘Scrappy’ Ramirez & Darius ‘DFG’ Fulghum fighting on same card Friday night in San Jose
    , Tue, 19 May 2026
  • Ignacio Defeats Malayan to Claim Title and USD 10,000 Prize
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Tue, 19 May 2026
  • USA Boxing Elite High Performance Squad Dominates Day One of 2026 Copa America with 11-0 Record
    , Tue, 19 May 2026




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2026 philboxing.com.