JoAnn Hagen: The Bashing Blonde Who Paved the Way Back in the 1950s, stepping into a boxing ring as a woman was almost unthinkable. Athletic commissions frowned, promoters sneered, and most of the public considered it a novelty at best. Enter JoAnn Hagen  (Jo Ann Verhaegen), South Bend, Indiana’s own firebrand who refused to be sidelined. Known as the “Bashing Blonde from South Ben...

Kisha Snow: A Pioneer Who Helped Shape Women’s Boxing During the late 1990s women’s boxing was illegal in Mexico and the United Kingdom. Can you imagine that? Two countries that produce some of the best talent banned women from boxing. The arc of women's boxing can be traced from obscurity to maintstream respect. Beneath those high‑profile champions lies a lineage of fighters whose effor...

Reflections on Claressa Shields and Franchon Crews-Dezurn's Journey to Propel Women's Boxing   By David A. Avila What a journey. Claressa Shields and Franchon Crews-Dezurn first met professionally in a Las Vegas boxing ring in 2016 and a decade later returned to face each other again, but this time in Detroit where the Motor City saw them combust on one another. “I’m going ...