Women’s Boxing: Ranking the Top Countries and More News
By David A. Avila
Ranking the countries.
When it comes to women’s boxing, American female prizefighters have always led the way for the rest of the world. For the past 100 years Americans tried forcing their way into the public eye in traveling circuses, boxing cards and bar room contests.
It’s one of the ways Christy Martin found success and later fame on Don King promoted boxing cards that featured Mike Tyson. It sparked the rest of the female sports world into action.
Despite the number advantage for American female fighters, they are not on top.
Today, the boxing landscape for women continues to evolve in almost all continents of the world. Here’s a look at women’s boxing in other countries and where they rank in quality and impact for pro boxing.
First, a short history.
Thanks to Germany, female fighters like Regina Halmich and Daisy Lang proved the appeal of women’s boxing from the 1990s until the early 2000s. Sold out arenas and media coverage allowed the rest of the world to see the appeal of women’s boxing.
Some naysayers said that it was strictly a German thing and not for the rest of the world.
Next came Mexico, with rival Spanish language networks staging female main events on their boxing cards from the early 2000s until the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Mariana “Barby” Juarez led the way with a stream of fighters on her coattail such as Jessica Chavez, Jackie Nava and Ana Maria Torres.
Japan female boxing saw success early in Asia and continues to battle for coverage. Though suffering because of the distance to American and European shores, Japanese female boxing still churns out world champions regularly.
What changed women’s boxing the most was the inclusion of women’s boxing in the Olympics.
The 2012 London Olympics allowed women’s boxing to spread rapidly. It also opened the door for the United Kingdom to showcase their talent pool along with nearby Ireland and Katie Taylor. Their combined talent keeps growing.
Other countries like Argentina and Australia emerged with talented fighters. Female world champions like Yesica Bopp and Erica Farias dominated in South America since the 2000s while Susi Ramadan did likewise in Australia. For fighters in those two continents, it was about finding international opposition. The cost of travel restricted their choices.
Global acceptance of women’s boxing has arrived, but lack of exposure is still a problem.
Top Countries Pound for Pound
If we were to rank the strength of women’s boxing in each country pound for pound, this is how we see it based on media coverage, promoting and competition:
- United Kingdom and Ireland – with multiple world champions despite a combined population of about 75 million, they also have promotion companies that devote money and exposure to the women. Think Chantelle Cameron, Katie Taylor, Sandy Ryan and Ellie Scotney. That’s a powerful group.
- USA – in a country of more than 300 million it’s difficult to compete against. It is a numbers game and though led by Claressa Shields, Amanda Serrano and Mikaela Mayer, there really is tiny support from promoters and media companies.
- Mexico – this country still provides countless female fighters every year. Though no longer supported by the two largest Spanish language media outlets, it hasn’t stopped the stream of talent coming out of the country. Erica Cruz, Yamileth Mercado and Lourdes Juarez are a few examples of Mexican talent.
- Japan – Though Naoko Fujioka retired, here come fighters like Mizuki Hiruta to replace her. Japanese women continue to dominate the smaller weight classes and are eager to fight anywhere in the world.
- Argentina – because of the distance from the USA and Europe, this South American country gets overlooked. For the past 25 years, led by Marcela Acuna, women’s boxing has skyrocketed. Think the Bermudez sisters Daniela and Evelin Bermudez. They are very good and very strong.
- Canada – This country has an excellent amateur boxing program and has always supported women’s pro boxing too. Kim Clavel has sparked interest and now there are others like Jessica Camara and Leila Beaudoin.
- Germany – it’s the motherland for women’s boxing and still provides talent with fighters such as Sarah Boorman, Nina Meinke, and Tine Rupprecht. Though not as strongly supported by promoters, the women still have clout with fans.
- Colombia – recently this country has been staging fight cards on a regular basis. Also, opposition from all countries have been participating on its cards. Watch out for Colombia.
- Spain – in the past 10 years Spain has bolstered its boxing cards with female boxing. Led by stalwarts such as rising stars like Tania Alvarez, this country has recently caught fire with regular boxing shows. Spanish boxing is thriving.
- Denmark – Situated in between the United Kingdom and Germany, this country has provided talented female fighters for decades. From Ana Christensen to Dina Thorslund the Danish can never be counted out.
More Fight News
Argentina
On Saturday Feb. 15, flyweights Aldana Lopez (11-0) and Leiryn Flores (23-5-1) meet 10 rounds in Buenos Aires. Also super feathers Florencia Escalante (0-0) and Veronica Nunez (1-2) meet four.
On Saturday Feb. 15, feathers Naila Peloso (0-8-1) and Alejandra Herrera (0-4-1) meet four rounds at Santa Fe.
Australia
On Saturday Feb. 15, middleweights Chloe Chaos (5-1-1) and Aimee Leher (0-0) meet four rounds at Flemington.
Colombia
Adriana Tobon (3-2) beat Valentina Corrales (0-1) in four on Wednesday Feb. 5. The super fly fight toSaturday Feb. 15, ok place at Santa Marta. Also, featherweight Eucaris Pirela (1-3) beat Mariela Mendez (0-1) in four.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
On Saturday Feb. 15, lightweights Niati Misama (0-1) and Keren Phoba (1-0) meet six rounds at Kinshasa.
France
Emilie Sonvico (3-0) defeated Elsa Hemat (5-11-2) by majority decision after six rounds on Saturday Feb. 8. The super lightweight match took place in Villejuif.
On Saturday Feb. 15, welterweights Emile Sonvico (3-0) and Rosa Maria Acosta (0-4-1) meet six rounds at Gard.
Japan
Komi Sato (2-0) won by knockout over Chiaki Matsumoto (0-1-1) in the third round on Thursday Feb. 6. The atomweight fight took placed in Tokyo. Also, atomweights Reiko Mori (1-3-1) and Natsume Kikuchi (1-0-1) fought to a majority draw after four.
Mexico
On Saturday Feb. 15, super bantams Yenia Arias (1-0-1) and Eloisa Martinez (5-16-4) meet five rounds at Colima.
Serbia
On Saturday Feb. 15, super lightweights Nadja Milijancevic (2-0) and Diana Kulinova (4-13) meet four rounds at Majdanpek.
Singapore
On Saturday Feb. 15, lightweights Amanda Chan (7-0) and Noppaket Srisawas (10-3) meet 10 rounds at Singapore.
Spain
Keylin Maradiaga (11-0-1) knocked out Klaudia Ferenczi (20-119-10) in the second round on Saturday Feb. 8. The light flyweight fight took place in Madrid.
On Saturday Feb. 15, featherweights Teresa Makinen (1-0) and Eva Cantos (9-18-1) meet six rounds at San Sebastian.
On Sunday Feb. 16, super featherweights Clara Lopez (1-1) and Victoria Lomax (0-1) meet six rounds at La Eliana.
Tanzania
On Thursday Feb. 13, super flys Zulfa Macho (4-0) and Neema Kalala (0-1) meet four rounds at Dar Es Salaam.
On Friday Feb. 14, featherweights Flora Machela (9-13-1) and Chiku Iddi (0-2) meet six rounds at Dar Es Salaam; also lightweights Dorothea Muhoza (0-5-1) and Neema Kalala (0-1); plus flyweights Sarafina Bela (7-7-1) and Farida Mikuyu (0-0) meet six.
On Friday Feb. 14, lightweights Lena Venjacoub (4-0) and Ruth Chisale (12-2) meet eight rounds at Maziwa. Also, super lightweights Daines Kwahala (0-1-1) and Najma Isike (3-5) meet four.
Thailand
Tanwarat Saengiamjit (13-8-1) knocked out Kadesara Jadpadee (9-8-1) in the fifth round on Saturday Feb. 8. The Thai super flyweight title fight took place at Pathum Thani.
Aleksandra Sitnikova (2-0) knocked out Wachiraya Chamnankit (0-6) in the third round on Friday Feb. 7. The welterweight fight took place in Bangkok.
Ruby Ramanpreet (1-0) knocked out Phanit Yongyut (3-5) in the second round on Wednesday Feb. 5. The light flyweight fight took place in Thanyaburi.
On Saturday Feb. 15, super middleweights Laura Mamedkulieva (1-0) and Siriwan Thongmanit (6-15-1) meet six rounds at Phuket.
United Kingdom
Cassidy Todd (4-0) beat Kerry Orton (0-15) by decision after six rounds on Saturday Feb. 8. The super bantamweight fight took place in East Kilbride, Scotland.
Katie Smith (4-0) won by unanimous decision after 10 rounds versus Eilish Tierney (3-1) on Saturday Feb. 8. The super featherweight title fight took place in Ipswich.
USA
Stephanie Simon (2-0) defeated Archana Sharma (3-3) by decision after six rounds on Saturday Feb. 8. The super lightweight fight took place at Commerce, Calif. Also, bantamweight Chantel Navarro (4-0) beat Laddy Mejia (0-3-1) by knockout in the fourth.
Rianna Rios (9-0) won by unanimous decision after six rounds against Nancy Franco (19-22-2) on Saturday Feb. 8. The bantamweight fight was held in San Antonio, Texas. Also, minimumweight Amanda Sendejo (1-0) beat Amarilis Adorno (1-15) in four.
Jessica Price (4-0) knocked out Tarrethia Dixon (2-4) in the second round on Friday Feb. 7. The featherweight fight took place in Louisville, Kentucky.
On Saturday Feb. 15, lightweights Yoryina Myers (2-0) and Jessie Clark (0-3) meet four rounds at Lincoln, Nebraska. Also, flyweights Melanie Timko (2-0) and Brianna Roper (0-0) meet four rounds.
On Saturday Feb. 15, light heavyweights Chia Fei Asbury (1-1-1) and Jina Bynum (0-3) meet four rounds at Durham, North Carolina.
On Saturday Feb. 15, featherweights Ivy Enriquez (0-0) and Karla Valenzuela (3-35-3) meet four rounds at El Paso, Texas.
Uzbekistan
On Saturday Feb. 15, lightweights Khilola Sobirova (2-0) and Saodat Ortikboeva (0-1) meet six rounds at Fergana.
(Photo by Tania Alvarez social media)