Two Years Ago Malissa Smith Authored a Book Chronicling the Remarkable Rise of Women’s Boxing

On June 4, 2024, a book arrived that was as much a reflection on the present state of women’s boxing as it was a record of the road traveled to get there.

The Promise of Women’s Boxing: A Momentous New Era for the Sweet Science, written by boxing historian Malissa Smith, landed at a time when women’s boxing was enjoying unprecedented visibility. Major events were headlined by women. Championship fights were drawing international audiences. Fighters such as Katie Taylor, Amanda Serrano, Claressa Shields, Savannah Marshall, Natasha Jonas, and Mikaela Mayer had become recognizable names well beyond boxing’s traditional fan base.

For Smith, the book represented the culmination of years spent documenting a sport that often struggled for recognition.

The publication date itself was fitting. Twelve years had passed since women’s boxing made its Olympic debut at the 2012 London Games, an event that fundamentally altered the trajectory of the sport. Smith’s book examines that period and the extraordinary changes that followed, tracing the evolution of women’s boxing from Olympic acceptance to the era of sold-out arenas and seven-figure purses.

The Historian Behind the Story

Among boxing historians, Malissa Smith has long occupied a unique niche.

While many authors have chronicled heavyweight champions, famous rivalries, and boxing’s colorful rogues, Smith devoted much of her career to documenting a segment of the sport that was frequently overlooked. Her previous work, A History of Women’s Boxing, established her as one of the foremost authorities on the subject.

That background makes her particularly qualified to tell the story of the modern era. Smith witnessed the years when female fighters struggled simply to secure opportunities. Her work has consistently emphasized that today’s successes did not emerge overnight but were built upon decades of persistence by fighters, trainers, managers, promoters, and advocates who operated with far fewer resources and considerably less recognition.

The foreword to The Promise of Women’s Boxing was written by two-time Olympic gold medalist and multi-division undisputed champion Claressa Shields, an appropriate choice given that Shields herself embodies much of the book’s central narrative. Shields emerged from the first Olympic generation of female boxers and helped redefine what women could accomplish professionally.

A Defining Event

For Smith, one of the pivotal moments in women’s boxing arrived on April 30, 2022, when Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano met before a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden.

The fight delivered everything boxing fans could have hoped for. More importantly, it proved that a women’s championship bout could headline one of boxing’s most famous venues and capture mainstream attention. According to the book, the event generated approximately 1.5 million online streaming views and became a watershed moment for the sport.

Smith uses that contest as a focal point in a larger story, viewing it as the culmination of a historical arc stretching back centuries.

More Than Champions and Title Belts

One of the strengths of the book is Smith’s willingness to examine issues beyond the ropes.

She explores the transition of elite amateurs into the professional ranks, the influence of streaming platforms, boxing’s competition with mixed martial arts, and the ongoing debate over two-minute versus three-minute rounds in women’s championship fights. Smith also addresses emerging questions about the sport’s future and the challenges that remain despite its recent successes.

In many ways, the book functions as both history and analysis.

Smith is praised for her ability to blend historical research with accessible storytelling, connecting the pioneers who fought for recognition with the stars who now headline major events. The book traces a lineage that runs from trailblazers such as Christy Martin, Alicia Ashley, and Heather Hardy to the Olympic generation that transformed the professional landscape.

An Important Addition to Boxing Literature

The Promise of Women’s Boxing was published just two years ago, when women’s boxing could finally be discussed as a major component of the sport rather than a niche attraction.

Smith’s central argument is straightforward: women’s boxing is no longer fighting for survival. It is fighting for growth, influence, and permanence. The struggles have not necessarily disappeared, but the conversation has changed. Smith examines what comes next.

The Promise of Women’s Boxing: A Momentous New Era for the Sweet Science serves as both a historical record and a snapshot of a transformative period whose final chapters have yet to be written.

Whether women’s boxing ultimately fulfills it’s full potential remains to be seen. But thanks to Malissa Smith, future generations will have a thoughtful and meticulously researched account of how this remarkable era came to be.

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