One of the most emotional fights in women’s boxing’s recent history took place last week, when Miyo Yoshida picked up the IBF bantamweight crown after defeating Ebanie Bridges, in one of the year’s biggest upsets as well as one of its most inspirational stories. And a story like this necessarily had to have an impact on our trailblazing Women’s Ratings.

Yoshida was 16-4 coming in, with a 3-3 run in her last six, but she dug in to almost shutout Bridges, who was rated at No. 3 at the weight by The Ring coming in.

With the win, Yoshida is now the new No. 3, with Bridges dropping down to No. 5.

“Miyo’s story is extraordinary and her win was so fulfilling — not only showcasing her enormous talent, but demonstrating to all of us the sacrifices we make as women to raise our children in the best way that we can,” said historian Malissa Smith, echoed by columnist Mark Jones in his statement of “Yoshida’s decisive decision win over Bridges is one of the most inspirational victories in boxing in many years. Bridges looked stiff and slow and couldn’t avoid the right hand. Some of her less-than-impressive performance is due to a year of inactivity, and some was Yoshida’s constant pressure.”

In other developments, Beatriz Ferreira and Lauren Price both jumped to No. 2 in their respective divisions (junior lightweight for Ferreira, welterweight for Price) after scoring wins during the weekend.

“Ferreira has a great talent. Her track record in the amateur elite, her strength and speed place her as a future star,” said TV producer and analyst Yesica Palmetta alluding to Ferreira’s stoppage win over Destiny Jones, while writer Christopher Benedict added that “(former) Prospect of the Year Lauren Price’s stock continues to rise with each outing as should her spot in the rankings in accordance. The Price is right at No. 2 at 147 after her win over (Italy’s Silvia) Bortot last weekend.”

Diego M. Morilla has written for The Ring since 2013. He has also written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.

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