“The Crazy Eights” Female Boxing’s KO Artists and More Female Fight News
By David A. Avila
Whether it is women or men’s prizefighting fans want to see knockouts. In the female fight world there are more than a few who truly standout for their punching power.
We’ve compiled a list of the most dangerous female fighters in the world when it comes to knockout power. And while most would expect the heavier female fighters to pack the most power, that’s not the case in women’s prizefighting.
Many of the best knockout punchers are in the weight classes below the 135-pound lightweight division.
Some say the two-minute round or the bigger gloves lead to less knockouts, but some fighters have been stopping opponents regardless of the shorter rounds or padded gloves. And we’re talking about pure punching power. The hurting kind.
Because of their vaunted punching power all of the fighters below are feared and avoided at all costs. It becomes more difficult to find opponents to face them and those that even negotiate ask for outrageous fees to risk their records.
We’ve compiled a list of the eight most dangerous female prizefighters in the world that we call the “Crazy Eights.” Whenever you see any of these fighters on a bout sheet expect the fight to end early.
From top to bottom these eight female prizefighters do not enter a boxing ring looking to win by decision. They have malice in their mind and electricity in their gloves. They are eight of the most dangerous female fighters in the world.
Most Dangerous:
Amanda Serrano (35-1-1, 26KOs) – She’s long been the ultimate knockout puncher in female prizefighting but lately has met some resistance. Fighting the bigger Yamila Reynoso for the super lightweight world title was the primary reason for the inability to score a knockout. But expect a new addition in a few weeks. Serrano, 30, is dropping down to 115 pounds to fight Eva Voraberger at Madison Square Garden on Friday Jan. 18 for the vacant WBO super flyweight world title. It’s an extremely dangerous venture in Serrano’s attempt to win a record-setting seven division world titles. The southpaw from Brooklyn is a natural KO artist and it’s rare that any of her fights end in a decision. Watch her on DAZN the streaming app.
Maiva Hamadouche (20-1, 16 KOs) – France’s brawling super featherweight world champion only has one gear and that’s full steam ahead until the smoke clears. Hamadouche, 29, recently out-slugged Viviane Obenauf in a rousing five round war in Paris that gave fans there all of their money’s worth of action. She is personally lifting women’s boxing to a higher profile in France and in Europe with her prizefighting style. Hamadouche is not just a boxer, she’s a pure puncher and is willing to exchange to prove it. She’s in an exciting division and if she moves up could bring zest to the lightweights.
Adelaida Ruiz (7-0, 4 KOs) – After forsaking boxing for 10 years to raise a family the Southern Californian returned to boxing and slowly got her footing. But once the 30-year-old Los Angeles prizefighter shook off the rust, she began knocking out the opposition with highlight film results. Four consecutive opponents found themselves unconscious or unable to continue fighting after receiving blows from Ruiz. She has quickly gathered an army of followers anxious to see her perform in the super fly and bantamweight divisions. She was voted “Knockout Puncher of the Year” by our publication in 2018.
Helen Joseph (15-3-2, 10 KOs) – The Nigerian fighter now lives in Connecticut and has fought from featherweight to super flyweight. She’s a two-fisted fighter who can knock out opponents with a left or a right. Her biggest win was against Australia’s Shannon O’Connell in 2017. Joseph, 29, has had problems finding opponents ever since that big win in Australia. Her last fight ended in a majority draw with Tyrieshia Douglas in the super flyweight division. Joseph is pretty tall for 115 pounds and has a straight-forward attacking style. So far, few have been willing to step in the ring with Joseph
Tiara Brown (7-0, 5 KOs) – The super cop from Washington D.C. has three consecutive knockouts. Her last stoppage was an impressive display against former champion Dahiana Santana last month in fourth round. Brown, 30, is entering her third year as a professional and shows great boxing technique aside from solid punching power as a super featherweight or lightweight. She’s very tall at 5’7” and very fast and probably could move up in weight very easily to challenge lightweights or super lightweights.
Seniesa Estrada (15-0, 5 KOs) – The East Los Angeles fighter though only 26 has been fighting professionally for eight years. She’s always been known for being a speedy but aggressive counter-puncher. But last year she discovered her natural power and unleashed it with frightening results against three light flyweights and won by convincing knockout in each instance. For the first time she ventured south of the border to Mexico and won the WBC Silver title by knockout. Golden Boy Promotions signed her and will be putting her on upcoming televised and streamed events. She’s a fully polished fighter and is capable of winning world titles in weight divisions below and above her current light flyweight group.
Terumi Nuki (10-4, 7 KOs) – The Japanese bantamweight from Osaka has a go-for-broke style that employs the knockout at all costs. She either wins by KO or loses by decision. So far she has never been stopped despite fighting Mexican great Mariana Juarez twice and Argentina’s Debora Dionicius. Nuki, 30, can fight at super flyweight or bantamweight and is unafraid of facing the best. She’s beginning to gather fans because of her knockout power and aggressiveness. Japan has always been a strong supporter of boxing and now female boxing is gathering fans there too.
Hanna Gabriels (18-2-1, 11 KOs) – The Costa Rican super welterweight was known worldwide for her boxing talent and power. Until she fought Claressa Shields last June in the Fight of the Year few fans in the United States knew about her. Now they know about Gabriels after she engaged with Shields in an electrifying match with the talented Shields. Gabriels, 35, is married to the flashy lightweight contender Bryan Vazquez and he’s added a lot of his technical prowess to her arsenal. She’s already a super star in Costa Rica and now fans in the US and around the world are aware of her talent.
Honorable Mention
It’s a small but powerful list of the most dangerous female fighters in the world. Below are a few that make honorable mention and could easily join the list of most dangerous female fighters today:
Jessica McCaskill, Kenia Enriquez, Layla McCarter, Anahi Sanchez, Jackie Nava, Naoko Fujioka, Yesica Bopp, Tyrieshia Douglas, Tenkai Tsunami
More Female Fight News
Argentina
On Saturday Jan. 12, bantamweights Micaela Lujan (6-1) and Virginia Carcamo (4-7-3) meet in a six round bout at Perez, Santa Fe.
China
Ouyang Jianping (2-1-1) and Fang Yun (0-0-1) fought to a draw after six rounds on Saturday Jan. 5. The light flyweight fight took place in Suzhou.
Denmark
On Friday Jan. 18, featherweights Sarah Mahfoud (7-0) and Bukiwe Nonia (13-3-1) meet in a 10 round fight for the IBF Inter-Continental title at Nykoebing Falster.
France
On Friday Jan. 11, super lightweights Marie Meron (5-0-1) and Silvia Bortot (5-0-1) meet in a 10-round fight for the EBU European title in Oise.
Tanzania
Happy Daudi (6-6-1) won by knockout in the first round over Robina Machwane (0-1) on Monday Dec. 31. The super lightweight match took place in Dar-Es-Salaam.
USA
On Friday Jan. 18, super flyweights Amanda Serrano (35-1-1) and Eva Voraberger (24-5) meet for the vacant WBO title at New York City. The fight will be streamed on DAZN. Serrano is attempting to win a seventh division world title.