The 411 Magazine The 411 Magazine issue 4 July/Aug 2017 | Page 77

FEATURE
so that there are better opportunities for future fighters
to earn a living.
Crucially televised fights provide the big bucks, but
women have typically been excluded, leading to a
lack of exposure needed to demonstrate their talent.
In the UK however, televised women’s boxing is
beginning to emerge positively, with a number of
leading amateurs recently turning professional on the
back of earning long-awaited respect and exposure.
Could there even be the possibility of holding an all-
female card in coming years?
The popularity of the sport has been driven
particularly by the number of younger women (16 to
25-year old’s) taking it up over what are seen as
traditional ‘female sports’. Women now make up
nearly 21% of boxing participation. This has also seen
an impact in the general fitness world, with boxercise
or boxing fitness classes becoming a notable celeb
and pop culture trend.
So, women’s professional boxing is now accepted
but it’s yet to prove to be a lucrative business.
However, recent moves by MatchRoom Boxing
having signed Katie Taylor and Box Nation/BT Sports
signing Nicola Adams, mean key names like Sky
Sports are observing how it could be profitable and
worthy of their respect and attention. Prominent
British promoter Frank Warren used to be openly
against women’s boxing but his views changed after
seeing the success and appeal of crossover star
Nicola Adams. He now promotes her fights and feels
she will be a positive influence on the scene, who
could draw in new fans to the sport. It shows how big
an impact these leading names are making by getting
this exposure and how it can inspire younger
generations of women as well as gain the support the
sport has so long lacked.
T
TWO
MINUTES
ARE UP?
here is still some
headway to be
made though. There is
still a massive pay gap
between men and
women for example,
with many leading
names having to juggle
professional boxing
with other jobs.
The sport is also seeing a recently re-ignited
debate around the lengths of rounds. Two minute
rounds have been the standard for women since the
late 90’s but a number of female boxers have been
challenging this to three-minutes, equal to men. This
remains a controversial issue, along with the
opportunity of cross-fighting (men versus women) with
the World Boxing Council arguing that the standard is
there to protect and keep boxers safe.
A
A SHORT
HISTORY
n underground
sport since the
1700s, women’s boxing
was not licensed until
1990. Due to this, it
was often seen as
being risky for women
to take up, with
concerns over health
and how violent
some competitors were.
During the Victorian era, when the image of women
was that of the passive female, there was a cult rise
in the sport late in the United States. Here women
were encouraged to take up the sport for weight loss
and exercise rather than to actually fight, which would
have still been seen as pushing at the margins of
‘respectability’.
Five-time world champion Jane Couch was
Britain’s first licensed female boxer, after taking the
British Board of Control to a tribunal in 1998. She had
the opportunity to fight on the under cards of the likes
of Lennox Lewis and Prince Naseem but got little pay
and even had to pay for her own flights and hotels.
Inspired by a documentary on female fighters such as
Deirdre Gogarty and Christy Martin, she decided to
take it up but her local gym wouldn’t let her because
she was a ‘girl’. She ended up training in Bristol
because that was the only place where someone
would coach her.
Women’s boxing was still underground, but in the
States the scene was being led by promoter Don
King, who was actually looking to use the controversy
around female boxing to make money, rather than
from any genuine support, but discovered there was
talent and quality. It subsequently became an Olympic
sport in 2009 and the sport got its first televised
broadcast the following year.
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