Featherweight champ gets a heavy hitter behind her

World Boxing Association female featherweight champion Choi Hyun-mi has found a sponsor.

The 19-year-old is scheduled to receive 100 million won ($89,000) in support from the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation.

Choi and her family defected from North Korea in July 2004, and her unique background has drawn a lot of media attention in the past few years.

Known for her power and feisty style, Choi is a young boxer with a promising future.

But despite being one of the country’s top female boxing prospects, she’s had trouble attracting sponsors.

“We decided to lend a helping hand after learning that it was tough for Choi to host fights,” said Kim Joo-hoon, the chairman of the board of KSPF.

Choi made her professional debut against Zhang Juan Juan in June 2008 and won on technical knockout. She won the vacant WBA featherweight title four months later in a match against Yan Xu-chun by a unanimous decision. She would go on to defend her title twice by drawing against Kim Hyo-min in May 2009 and winning a unanimous decision against Tenku Tsubasa in November 2009.

Yonhap