Life
Arrives in South Korea
Had been a boxer in North Korea and came to South Korea in July 2004.
Source 01 · Seoul Shinmun (Korean) · Interview with the world champion Choi Hyun-mi · opens in a new tab The article does not give the day.In July 2004, the year she turned 14, she came to South Korea.
The breakthrough yearIn 2005, the year she turned 15, the Associated Press gave close coverage to her as a girl boxer who had defected from North Korea and was pursuing a boxing dream in South Korea, and her name became known. The description of her as a Korean “Million Dollar Baby” also ran in Kyunghyang Shinmun and YTN, and around then she was coached by the former world champion Chang Jung-koo.
In 2007, she won the 60 kg division of the National Women’s Amateur Boxing Championship and registered as a professional in September. On Oct. 11, 2008, the year she turned 18, she beat Xu Chunyan by decision in the WBA female featherweight title bout and became world champion. The Dong-A Ilbo wrote that she was the first of defector origin, and that month the IHT introduced her on its front page.
In 2009, she fought her first defense to a draw and won her second by decision. In 2010, the preparation for her second defense was shown on MBC’s Infinite Challenge, and in April she won her third defense by decision.
In 2011, she won her fourth defense by KO. In 2012, she won her sixth defense by decision. In 2013, after her seventh defense, she moved up in weight and became WBA female super featherweight champion in August. In 2014, she won her first super featherweight defense by TKO.
In 2015, she won her second super featherweight defense by decision. In 2016, she completed her third defense in the world’s first cave boxing match, at Gwangmyeong Cave. In 2017, she won both her fourth and fifth defenses by decision. In 2018, she completed her sixth defense. In 2019, she won her seventh defense by decision.
In 2021, she won her ninth defense by round-9 TKO, bringing her career record to 19 wins and 1 draw. In 2022, she won her tenth defense by decision. In 2023, she appeared on Netflix’s Physical: 100.
In 2024, she lost a WBA female lightweight Gold title match. In 2025, her joining Channel A’s Baseball Queen was announced. In 2026, she is playing left field on Baseball Queen season 2.
Choi Hyun-mi (born Nov 7, 1990) became known on Mar 28, 2005, the year she turned 15, when the Associated Press gave close coverage to her as a girl boxer who had defected from North Korea. She turned professional on Sep 18, 2007, the year she turned 17, and became WBA female featherweight world champion on Oct 11, 2008, the year she turned 18.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.