Choi Hyun-mi, a North Korean defector and undefeated World Boxing Association (WBA) super featherweight champion, will fight Teri Harper, champion of the World Boxing Council (WBC) on May 16. The bout in Manchester, England, will decide the unified world champion of the two biggest women’s boxing leagues in the world.
Choi, 31, began boxing in Pyongyang, North Korea, when she was 11 years old. She defected to South Korea in 2004 when she was 14. Just four years after coming to South Korea, she became the champion of the WBA’s featherweight class. Choi won the WBA featherweight crown upon her professional debut in October 2008. Choi became a world champion in two weight classes after winning the WBA super featherweight title against Thailand’s Siriwan Thongmanit in May 2014. She is believed to be the longest-reigning world champion, having captured her 130lb title in 2014. She recently defended the title against Calista Silgado of Columbia by a 3-0 decision in December.
While the international boxing community looks forward to the upcoming big fight between Choi (18-0-1, 4KOs) and British champion Terri Harper (11-0-1, 6 KOs), South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that Choi faced some problems attracting funding.
“They, [sponsors in South Korea], are saying that it is difficult for them to fund her, since she is a North Korean defector,” Choi Young-choon, father of Choi Hyun-mi, said in an interview with the newspaper. “I do not know much about diplomacy, but is it possible to legitimize discriminating against her based on where she is from? I really do not understand it.”
Choi Hyun-mi left South Korea in November for the United States to continue her boxing career. Countries such as Germany and Japan asked Choi to apply for citizenship in their countries, but she rejected those offers and said she likes living in South Korea. “My daughter tried to stay in South Korea since she liked staying here, but she eventually left the country as she was turned away after the current [Moon Jae-in] administration came to power,” Choi’s father said. “However, she is still keeping her South Korean citizenship.”
Her father has been working as both her training partner and public relations manager. He prepares everything from her gloves and boxing equipment to her meals. He said that he visited the National Assembly and companies in South Korea to ask for sponsorship opportunities. “Sometimes, Hyun-mi would join me, and I remember her saying, ‘Can I just focus on boxing?’” he said. “I told her ‘I am sorry your dad is not someone better.’”
According to Choi’s father, the situation has worsened under the Moon Jae-in administration. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism used to provide 30 million won ($26,690) a year to Choi, but the funding stopped in 2017. “Companies that used to sponsor my daughter would tell me that it is difficult to support North Korean defectors nowadays,” Choi argued. “How can I ask them to accept a disadvantage in funding us?” Choi Hyun-mi used to have one or two fights a year, but it was difficult to arrange just one fight a year over the past four years, according to her father.
Choi Hyun-mi signed a contract with a management firm in the United States in November. The contract is based on fight money per match, instead of the company taking care of all the costs. “People from the United States asked us, ‘Is South Korea that poor country?’ after seeing us having a hard time arranging a title defense match,” Choi said.
Tae Yong-ho, a former senior North Korean diplomat who became a South Korean lawmaker, recently released a statement asking people to take more interest in Choi Hyun-mi.
“Choi Hyun-mi and her father, and myself, chose the Republic of Korea and its national flag over our lives,” Tae said. “Based on Choi’s capability as a boxer, she could have been well respected as a hero of sports in North Korea if she waved the North Korean national flag in the world.”
Tae mentioned the recent fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. “South Korean people went crazy for the fight, even though it did not have a fighter from the Republic of Korea,” he said. “But people have not much interest in a world championship bout that our boxer will fight in.”
Tae added that Choi turned down other countries’ offers to give her citizenship. “Choi refused it right away because of her pride in having the national flag of South Korea with her and her patriotism.”
According to the South Korean media, Choi Hyun-mi had part-time jobs even after she started boxing. Choi was trained by a South Korean boxing legend Chang Jung-koo. Some Western media called Choi the “Korean Million Dollar Baby,” comparing the story of Choi climbing up the ladder to become the world champion despite difficulties to the American movie “Million Dollar Baby.” The film was released in 2004, the same year that Choi came to the south.
