North Korea’s Defector Girl Boxer and ‘Million Dollar Baby’ – Choi Hyun Mi – 17-year old female Mohammed Ali
Choi Hyun Mi had never heard of Muhammad Ali. She knows him now. On Oct. 11, the 17-year-old became the World Boxing Association’s women’s featherweight champion.
She is called “The Defector Girl Boxer”, because of her unusual background.
Choi’s father risked his life and abandoned a privileged position in North Korea to help his daughter “fight for fame and success.” Choi’s boxing revenue supports her family as her father has yet to find work in Seoul.
Choi’s background is one of her biggest selling points. She has shed any trace of a North Korean accent, a low-status marker that often holds back North Korean defectors.
She follows South Korean usage of English words like “hook” and “KO.”
“Why do I box? Boxing makes you curvy,” she says.
Choi’s coach Kim says, “I think I can make her into a million-dollar boxer.” Kim is a retired marine and former boxer.
Choi wants to sweep all the world titles in her weight division. After that she wants to get into the entertainment industry.
“I’m going to make everyone recognize my name,” she said.
According to her coach, “before she does that she must hone a knockout power punch. ”
This girl’ll beat your brains out. These girls will not.
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I for one am honestly impressed and respect her a lot…I really look forward to seeing what she’ll do with her boxing career and how she makes a bigger name for herself.
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