S’porean muay thai fighter Winnia Leow gets eye-opening experience in maiden world title bout defeat

SINGAPORE – Defeat still stung for Singaporean muay thai fighter Winnia Leow, who lost a world title bout to Australia’s Kim Townsend on April 12.

In the biggest fight of her career at the Royal International Convention Centre in Brisbane, Australia, the 26-year-old was up against defending champion Townsend for the International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA) flyweight world title.

While Leow managed to match Townsend in the early stages of the bout, it was the 36-year-old Australian who prevailed as the Honour Premier League fight was scored 3-2 in her favour, solidifying her status as a 15-time world champion in front of a home crowd.

Leow still feels down after the loss, but the experience has also given her much to look forward to.

She said: “I’m really disappointed that I couldn’t close out the win because I really had it, but I belong in the ring with her. It could’ve gone either way – it was three rounds to two rounds, but anyone could’ve won last night.

“It was not a skill problem, it was not a physical problem, it was more the small things towards the later round that turned the win to her side.

“The good part about this is I’m 26, I’ve just started my career and I’m slowly peaking and Kim is towards the end of her career. So to be able to fight the legend when she has accomplished so much shows me how far I can go if I keep going at it and don’t give up.”

At a sports bar near her hotel on the morning of April 13, she found some inspiration as she watched Australian Alexander Volkanovski reclaim his featherweight title at UFC 314 after back-to-back knockout losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria.

Leow said: “He got knocked out two times in a row but today he won the belt so just because you lose doesn’t mean that it’s the end because the next one is a new one and you can always have a chance to do something different after that.”

Nigel Smith, founder of mixed martial arts gym Pineapple MMA, who has been supporting Leow’s career as a fighter since 2023, was encouraged by her first world title fight.

The Australian said: “I want to see how far we can go. We never had any goals (starting out), it was just seeing how far we can take this and last night doesn’t change that.

“For me, it vindicates everything I thought from when she first sat and had a coffee with me (over two years ago) where it was ‘let’s double down and go again and again until there’s no next time’.

“That’s her decision, not ours but while she wants to make the decision to keep going, our thing is to challenge ourselves and see whether we can do something awesome at some point.”

It was also an eye-opening experience for Leow in Australia, as she witnessed the passion that locals have for combat sports.

She recalled how there were also people from Australia and Britain rooting for her and other fighters, something she hopes to also see in Singapore.

Up next for Leow is a Rajadamnern World Series fight in Thailand on May 24, with a possible return to Australia in September after interest from the promoter to bring her back.

Smith added: “Being out here and seeing the muay thai community and how they supported each other, being backstage in the locker room, fighters and gyms from New Zealand and Australia, and how they treated each other was really nice to see. We felt really welcomed.”