Women Boxers

A professional WWE wrestler, Ronda Rousey was the first UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion and also the first woman to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Earlier, she became the first US woman to win an Olympic medal in judo. Amongst the greatest female MMA fighter, Ronda has also appeared in films like The Expendables 3 and Furious 7.

Holly Holm is a mixed martial artist. A former world champion in boxing, Holm currently competes in the UFC and holds the distinction of being the first fighter to hold a UFC title and a world boxing title. Her win against Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in the history of combat sports.

Boxer and mixed martial artist, Claressa Shields, reigned as the undisputed female middleweight champion from 2019 to 2020. She has previously held multiple WBA, WBC, and IBF female middleweight titles. She is also the first American boxer to win consecutive Olympic medals. She was named the Female Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America in 2018.

Laila Ali is an American former professional boxer. The daughter of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, Laila Ali competed from 1999 to 2007, during which she remained undefeated. She is also credited with saving wrestling legend Hulk Hogan's life by calling him when he was suicidal and depressed. After retiring from professional boxing, Laila Ali became a television personality.

Tagged by the media as Boxing’s First Lady, Norwegian boxer/kickboxer Cecilia Braekhu scripted history by becoming the first female boxer to hold the WBA, IBF, WBC, and WBO titles at the same time. Colombian-born Braekhu was adopted by a Norwegian couple as a 2-year-old and began boxing as a teenager.

A 5-time world champion and an Olympic gold medalist, Katie Taylor is one of Ireland’s best boxers. She also has 6 gold medals at the European Championship. Born amid poverty in the coastal town of Bray, to a boxer father, Katie was initially trained by him.

Known as the Blonde Bomber to her fans, Australian boxer and female super-bantamweight champion Ebanie Bridges had begun training in karate at age 5 and had then moved on to kickboxing, Muay Thai, and eventually competitive bodybuilding. She is a qualified math teacher and speaks 5 languages, too.

Retired British boxer Nicola Adams scripted history as the first female boxer to earn an Olympic gold and retain the gold at the following Olympic event. Openly lesbian, she is also an LGBT icon. Though shortlisted for Strictly Come Dancing, she withdrew after her partner tested COVID-positive.

Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain was born into a poor family in Assam and was initially interested in Muay Thai. The Arjuna Award winner made waves after winning a bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She has also won medals at the Asian Championship and the World Championship.

Nicknamed the Belter, boxer Terri Harper is a former super-featherweight world title holder. She began boxing at age 12 but then focused on her education, only to return to boxing after her GCSEs. She once revealed that she had come out as a lesbian at age 14.

American figure skater, Tonya Harding, was the 1991 and 1994 US champion but her 1994 title was taken away after a controversy erupted regarding her ex-husband. He was charged with planning an attack on a rival American skater, Nancy Kerrigan. Tonya Harding was banned for life by the US Figure Skating Association after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Eva Wahlstrom is a Finnish retired boxer who held the WBC super-featherweight title for nearly five years before losing her title to Terri Harper. She also represented her country at the European Championships where she won silver medals in 2004 and 2005.

Former WBA female bantamweight title holder Shannon Courtenay had her title revoked after failing to make it to the specified weight category for her fight against Jamie Mitchell. She later blamed her menstrual cycle for her sudden weight gain of 2.5lbs. She has also been dubbed The Baby Face Assassin.

Jamaican-American boxer Alicia Ashley scripted history when, at age 48, she made a Guinness record for being the world’s oldest boxing champion. Nicknamed Slick, the Super Bantamweight champion had a 22-year illustrious career in the boxing world and is now a boxing trainer based in China.

Also known as the Killer Queen, American-German boxer Susi Kentikian has been a flyweight world champion twice. Born in the Armenian SSR she left the country with her parents at 5, in the midst of a war. At 5’ 1”, she was also initially tagged as Germany’s shortest professional boxer.