By Anthony Cocks
Super flyweight contender Mai Soliman (10-1, 6 KOs) believes she is ready for a world title shot following her stoppage victory over Jasmine Parr (8-2, 3 KOs) earlier this month. The 27-year-old Soliman was down on the cards when she found a home for her vaunted right hand midway through the seventh round, hurting Parr and finishing her off with a flurry at Hyatt Place Event Centre in Essendon Fields, Australia on November 7. Soliman collected the IBF International belt with her win over the New Jersey-based sanctioning body’s number eight contender and will likely replace her in the top 10 in the next ratings update, moving her closer to a tilt at the red belt owned by Mexican southpaw Irma Garcia (25-5-1, 5 KOs). The Egyptian-born Soliman showed her mettle against Parr, withstanding the 22-year-old’s volume punching in the first half of the fight before banging her way to victory. “I didn’t expect it to be an easy fight at all, but I expected it to be a good, hard fight,” Soliman told Fightnews. “We had both fought pretty much everyone in our division, so I expected her to come out at her best.
“There were a few things in the lead-up where I wasn’t sure if this fight was ever going to happen, but I think it probably happened at the right time for both of us. And I think we’ve shown what we can produce as female fighters, especially coming from Australia.”
Soliman, who was trailing the fight 55-59 and 54-60 twice at the time of the stoppage, says she never lost hope that she would land a fight-changing punch. “I noticed that she was gassing out at the end of the sixth round,” said Soliman. “I changed my game plan. I took away her range from her. I started not standing in front ofher. I just started moving back a little bit, where she obviously didn’t have quite that reach on me, where she would miss, and then eventually she’d be caught. “I wasn’t coming into this fight to win on points.” Australia has a long and storied history of producing world-class female boxers. From Sharon Anyos to Diana Prazak to Shannon O’Connell, the list of world champions from the antipodes is long. Back in July, Cherneka Johnson defeated Shurretta Metcalf on short notice to claim the undisputed bantamweight championship at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden on an all-female card promoted by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP).
These are the types of shows that Soliman would like to feature on in the future while flying the flag for her country. “We have a lot of great boxers on the world stage, like Jai Opetaia, Justis Huni, and the rest that follows,” said Soliman. “[Tim] Tszyu, [George] Kambosos, and there’s more to come. You’ve got Skye Nicolson, you’ve got Cherneka Johnson as well. It’s good to see that it’s growing, especially with women’s boxing and what MVP is doing. “It’s great to see them promoting female fighters. It gives you hope that if you train hard and do your best, then the opportunities will come.”
