Mizuki Hiruta Beats Mai Soliman On Points

Mizuki Hiruta kept her place among the top lightweight women’s fighters with a unanimous decision over Mai Soliman in Giza, where the setting was spectacular, but the boxing stayed firmly under the champion’s control.

The Japanese WBO super-flyweight champion, also defending The Ring junior-bantamweight title, was awarded the contest by margins of 99-91 and 98-92 twice after 10 rounds. Those scores told the story. Soliman came with ambition and physical strength, hoping to become the first Egyptian-born woman to win a major world title. Yet, Hiruta’s sharper boxing, cleaner timing, and superior judgement of distance kept the challenger mostly at arm’s length.

Soliman, now based in Australia, arrived with a back story that gave the title fight emotional weight. She was not there just to make up the numbers. From the start, she pressed to force exchanges and bring Hiruta in close. However, good intentions are not good openings, and too often she walked into the champion’s jab or was turned before she could set her feet.

Hiruta’s work was not built on power. Her record has never suggested a destructive puncher, and this was no sudden reinvention. Instead, she won through rhythm, movement, and selection. When it suited her, she took the centre with confidence, stepping in and out, then shifting away before Soliman could turn her aggression into sustained offence. Although Soliman got close enough to make things untidy at times, those moments were too few to change the fight’s direction.

The champion’s southpaw angles proved troublesome. Hiruta repeatedly landed her left and used her right hand to disrupt Soliman. She was measured and never sought a stoppage that was not there. That may have denied the crowd a dramatic finish, but it was championship boxing. Prize-fighting is not a beauty contest, though some promoters seem to forget.

Soliman was most effective when she closed the space quickly and forced Hiruta to work along the ropes. Those moments were brief. She needed to make the fight rough, break the champion’s rhythm, and make each round physically costly. Instead, she followed too much. Following Hiruta rarely wins rounds. The Japanese fighter’s footwork was precise and her reactions sharp.

By the middle rounds, the pattern was established. Hiruta was scoring with cleaner punches. Soliman was having to work harder for smaller returns, and her attacks were becoming more hopeful than calculated. She never stopped trying, which reflected well on her courage and conditioning. However, she could not control the champion’s movement or apply the pressure needed to make the judges think twice.

The later rounds brought more urgency from Soliman, though not much more success. Meanwhile, Hiruta remained composed, boxing with the assurance of a champion who understood exactly what was required. She did not need to dominate every second; she simply needed to win enough of the important moments, and she did that with room to spare.

For Hiruta, this was another successful defence and another step in building her reputation outside Japan. Women’s boxing at lower weights rarely gets the attention it deserves, but Hiruta’s rise is among the sport’s most interesting stories. She brings colour, personality and technical skill, and on this evidence, she is capable of defending her title on bigger international stages.

Soliman leaves beaten but not disgraced. She was outboxed by a more polished fighter, not overwhelmed or embarrassed. Her effort was honest and her ambition clear. Her place in the bout was not without merit. But world title boxing is unforgiving. Against a champion as quick and well-schooled as Hiruta, effort alone is expensive currency.

Hiruta deserved the decision, the margin, and the continued attention. She boxed like a champion, controlled the ring, and made a determined challenger look short of ideas. In a sport that often rewards noise, this was a quieter kind of excellence.

I liked Hiruta’s work here because it was a proper championship performance, not just running about and nicking rounds. She knew what Mai Soliman wanted; she knew the challenger had to make it rough, and she never really let her get comfortable enough to do it.

Soliman came to have a go, no doubt about that. She was strong and honest. She kept pressing, but too much of her pressure was hopeful rather than educated. There is a big difference between closing distance and just following someone around the ring. Hiruta made her follow. That is why the scores were wide enough at 99-91 and 98-92 twice.

What stood out for me was Hiruta’s feet. She was not wasting movement; she was stepping just far enough to make Soliman reset, then touching her with the jab or finding the left hand from the southpaw angle. That is clever boxing. It is not the sort of thing that gets casuals jumping out of their seats, but anyone who has spent time in a gym knows how frustrating that is to deal with.

Soliman needed to get chest-to-chest and make it physical. She had to take away Hiruta’s rhythm. She had little moments when she got close, but could not keep her there. Hiruta’s balance was too good. Her reactions were too sharp, and her shot selection was cleaner.

For me, this was a champion doing what champions do. She did not panic or get dragged into a scrap she did not need. She did not chase a stoppage just to please the crowd. She boxed, controlled the geography, and kept her titles with room to spare. Soliman was game, but Hiruta was simply a level above.