BOURNEMOUTH boxer Denise Castle has made history as a world champion in a new weight division for female boxing.

Castle took the win in the world’s first pinweight world title bout sanctioned by the Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) with a fourth-round stoppage of Thailand’s Panida Chatluang.

This division includes boxers weighing in at under 45kg.

Staged at the beachside resort of Hua Hin in Thailand, the boxers fought in front of a large crowd as PWC Boxing Promotion held the first ever female world boxing championship in the area.

Chatluang came into the fight with the stronger record, with eight wins and nine losses compared to Castle’s four wins and four losses.

But the Bournemouth boxer entered off the back of a second-round knockout of Thailand’s Dunphet Akatong and was feeling confident.

“I had been working on altering my style to suit my strengths after my loss to Sana last year - I feel the most confident I have ever felt at the moment and it is true that you can learn more from a loss than a win,” she said after the weigh in.

The fight started sharply, with speed and accuracy a feature of bouts featuring lighter fighters.

Both were keen to prove dominance in the first round and they both landed clean shots, but the round ended with Castle landing a strong right straight to Chatluang’s jaw.

Rounds two and three continued at pace, as Castle found success on the inside, with her opponent looking dangerous with hard counters.

The Thai boxer ended the third round on the ropes after a strong inside combination from the British boxer.

Castle stepped up her forward motion in the fourth, increasing the effect of her attack while cutting the opportunities for her opponent.

She landed some strong and right hooks and straights to Chatluang’s jaw, raising her hands to defend, with Castle pressing her advantage.

The 52-year-old landed an effective body hook followed by a quick head shot, forcing Chatluang to double over, and the ref ended the fight.

With the win, Castle becomes the first to win the WIBA Pinweight world title, to add to her WIBA atomweight championship.

Reflecting on the introduction of the new weight division, trainer and partner Lorne Castle said: “The lower divisions in female boxing have stacked rankings with many fighters able to cut down for the day before weigh in and just put back on for fight time.

“Both Sana [Hazuki] and Norj [Guro] weighed over 50kg prior and Fabiana [Bytyqi] now has moved up to flyweight - it is very hard for the females who walk at 46/47kg to obtain a match at a high level without the opponent often enjoying a weight advantage from cutting weight - the advantage gained is why fighters cut weight. “This Pinweight division gives many females now an option to fight a fairer and safer fight.”

President of the WIBA, Ryan Wissow, said: “I decided to create the 99-pound Pinweight division with the WIBA because I was made aware of the Pinweight fights taking place in Asia and there was enough talent there to justify creating a new weight class.

“The demand is there, and it fills the need for safe and competitive weight matches for the small girls.

“WIBA was the first to create the 102-pound division for female boxing, and all the other belts followed after.

“The 99-pound Pinweight division will prove itself over time.”