Women's Boxing Overview
When did women enter the sport of boxing?
Women have been fighting for years and years. Women were fighting in the 1800s, in the 30s and 40s, 50s and 60s, 70s, 80s but we didn't get any notoriety until Christy Martin started opening for Tyson. We still don't get the kind of media attention and of course the paydays that men do, but I think that's in every female sport. Clearly, you're not going to see the WNBA getting the attention that the NBA is getting nor the pay either, so I think that's pretty much in every female sport with the exception of tennis.
What were some of the biggest scandals in female boxing?
Just know that it's just a very corrupt sport. Basically, everybody's being paid off in this sport whether it be the officials, the refs, the judges, the commission, the doctors, the promoters, the managers, the fighters, everybody, somebody's always being paid off.
What are the sanctioning bodies of female boxing?
The sanctioning bodies, which are the WBC, the IFBA, the IBA. Every weight class has a champion and you have the chance to fight for the belt if you're ranked in the top ten and you have the chance to challenge someone, to take their belt from them. But there's a lot of corruption that goes in with that too. Because sometimes you'll see number ten fighting the champion when you're thinking, "Well, shouldn't that be number two fighting the champion?" But there's just so much . . . like I said, everybody's being paid off so it really depends. Really the bottom line is not how good you are but how much money can you come up with.
What is the role of state boxing commissions in female boxing?
The role of state boxing commissions in female boxing, Each state has a commission, but there's no overall governing body. We should have a national commission, but we don't. So you see a lot of commissions in each state that are not as strict if they even have one at all, and get away with anything. We're required to go through medical testing, but those can often be changed around or results can be switched, a lot of that stuff goes on.
How long is a female boxer's career?
A female boxer's career is not very long. There's only a few girls making a living off the sport. You have myself, Christy Martin, and Lela Ali. That's three out of thousands, so how long is their career? I don't think there is a career. I mean, if you only have three women making a living off the sport, you can't really say it's something you can make a career out of.
What drives the best women fighters?
What drives a female fighter is the same as a male fighter. We're no different. In fact, it's probably more so for the women, because we are in a male-dominated sport, we live in a male-dominated world, and it's kind of our way of feeling dominance, feeling strong. I think every woman wants to feel that way, so I think we're probably more driven than the men.
What is the role of female amateur boxing?
Absolutely not, there's no organization in amateur female boxing. I came from the amateurs of Tia Kwan Do, so I didn't even come from the amateurs of boxing. It has nothing to do with how good you are in the amateurs, unfortunately. It's just being professional, is all about the money for the promoters and making money, it's a business. It's not for the love of the game. For us fighters it is, but not for the promoters, it's about how they can make money. And even with the men, yeah it's great if you win a gold medal or silver medal in the Olympics- but they're going to take who's most marketable. If De La Hoya was a bronze medallist but yet he's a very good-looking guy he would have been picked up anyway.
What makes a good female fighter?
I do want to say aggression because most female fighters are not necessarily aggressive, I know I am not but in the ring I am. But it's more about that will of when you are anticipating your opponents next move and you guess right - it's a mind game and it's about winning and if you are the ring and you think “She's going to through a right jab”, and you are prepared for that and you anticipate that and if you are right and you score, it is the ultimate thrill of victory. But if you made the wrong move then there is nothing worse, it's the agony of defeat. But you just have to keep going because you are in a fight and you don't have too long so you can't dwell on your mistakes. After the fight over you though, you do dwell on it.
Do women train differently from men in boxing?
I think training is harder for... I think females train harder. Female fighters train harder than male fighters. Male fighters tire easily, whereas women can just keep going and going. Men are kind of like babies when it comes to their injuries. "Oh, I'm wounded, I can't fight." Girls will fight with herniated discs, broken bones, fractured noses. We don't care, we'll fight. But men are just babies.
