Nina Meinke is the new IBF featherweight world champion. In a tough twelve-round fight, the Berlin native defeated Argentina’s Daniela Bermudez on Saturday in Hamburg.
Nina Meinke is the new world featherweight boxing champion. The 31-year-old from Berlin secured the IBF title on Saturday in Hamburg with a points victory over the experienced Argentinian Daniela Bermudez. It was Meinke’s 19th victory in her 22nd professional fight and her first over the men’s distance of twelve rounds of three minutes each.
“I can’t believe that this dream has come true,” said Meinke after the match, full of emotion. “We women have shown that we can take on the men. A big thank you to my opponent for that”. The fight, which went the full distance, demanded everything from Meinke. Especially in the final rounds, the boxer was marked by the exertions: Her handlers had to repeatedly stop bleeding in her face during treatment breaks after she suffered a laceration from an unintentional headbutt. But Meinke fought on undaunted.
Nina Meinke at the destination of her dreams
The Berlin native, who is also known as the godchild of former boxing world champion Sven Ottke, has thus become the top female featherweight and fulfilled her sporting dream. She already had the WIBF belt, but her victory over Bermudez crowned her career. The fight against the Argentinian had become necessary after the previous title holder, Amanda Serrano, resigned her IBF belt. Meinke was originally scheduled to face Serrano in March, but the fight was canceled at short notice due to an eye injury suffered by the Puerto Rican. Serrano then decided to move up a weight class, which paved the way for Meinke’s title win.
Premiere in European women’s boxing
In addition to the sporting challenge, the fight also marked a premiere in European women’s boxing: for the first time, two women fought over the full men’s distance of twelve rounds of three minutes each. Meinke, who had already emphasized this step before the fight as an important contribution to equality in boxing, also wants to stick to this format for future title defenses. “The twelve rounds stand for equality in women’s sport,” she explained confidently.
In addition to congratulations from the boxing world, including Regina Halmich and Axel Schulz, Meinke is now looking forward to a well-deserved break. A safari vacation with her boyfriend in Kenya is on the agenda, but the rest won’t last long. “I want to stick with the twelve times three minutes and see who comes next,” says Meinke, looking forward to the challenges ahead.
With this impressive victory, Meinke joins the ranks of the great German boxers and is now the second German female world champion of a major boxing federation alongside Tina Rupprecht, WBC atomweight champion.
Text: Andreas Ohlberger