Many boxing fans saw Yuko Kuroki as the clear winner – but the judges decided in favor of Sarah Bormann.
There was a major scandal in women’s boxing at the Wandsbeker Sporthalle in Hamburg on Saturday evening. German boxer Sarah Bormann (21-1, 7 knockouts) unified the WBA and WBO world minimumweight titles with a highly controversial split-decision against Japan’s Yuko Kuroki (25-9-2, 10 knockouts).
After ten thrilling rounds, the official scorecards read: 97-93 and 96-95 for Bormann, while a judge scored it 97-93 for Kuroki. However, many viewers who watched the fight live on DAZN saw the Japanese fighter clearly ahead.
Kuroki got off to a strong start and secured the first two rounds with her active jab. From round three onwards, Bormann repeatedly made negative headlines – punches after the break and unclean actions went unpunished by the referee.
As the fight progressed, Kuroki increasingly took control, her hand speed and precise counter-attacks visibly putting Bormann under pressure. In the ninth round, she landed a headbutt that caused a deep laceration on Bormann’s forehead. Despite the heavily bleeding injury, the fighter from Frankfurt fought through and survived the final rounds until the final bell.
While Bormann was jubilant after the verdict, there was outrage on social media and among boxing fans about the points result. Many spoke of a “robbery in Hamburg” – another case that reignited the discussion about dubious judgments in German boxing.