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 efforts helped transform the sport long before million‑dollar purses and global broadcasts were possible. Among them is Kisha Snow, the Brooklyn‑born heavyweight whose resilience and outspoken perspective helped lay the groundwork for the women who followed.

Snow was born on February 25, 1969 in New York City, and she grew up immersed in the urban boxing culture that has produced countless legends. In an era when women’s boxing was often dismissed as a sideshow or novelty act, she blazed her own path. In 1999, Snow captured the American women’s boxing heavyweight title as an amateur, a distinguished accomplishment.

“Back then, there were not a lot of women boxing,” Snow stated years later. “I used to spar with all the guys, all the time.” She was willing to challenge herself and refused to be constrained by gendered expectations.

Snow turned professional in December 1998, stepping into a heavyweight division that was barely populated, even as women were beginning to push for broader recognition. Over the next four years she compiled a pro record of 6‑2 with 3 knockouts across eight fights.

Her professional journey began with a unanimous decision win over Mary Barnes at New York’s Roseland Ballroom. Her TKO victory over  Carley Pesente made history as a rare women’s heavyweight clash in July 2000 that drew notable local interest. Snow’s career was punctuated by compelling matchups against the era’s best, including a 2001 TKO loss to future elite contender Vonda Ward. Ward was a talented athlete who had transitioned from a promising basketball career to become one of the top power punchers in women’s boxing.

Snow’s final professional bout came in November 2002, when she dropped a unanimous decision to Martha Salazar, who would go on to become one of the most accomplished female heavyweights of the 21st century. Snow came out swinging, traded combinations with Salazar, and showcased the sort of spirited performance that defined her career.

“It was really a novelty, women’s boxing,” Snow said in reflection about her era. “We needed people to take women’s boxing more seriously. I see myself as one of the pioneers, helping to get women’s boxing to be taken seriously by fighting good matches.”

Snow’s story is inseparable from the community she fought in and influenced. Dmitriy Salita, the former professional boxer turned promoter, trained alongside Snow at Brooklyn’s Starrett City Boxing Club, and he has cited her as a formative presence in his understanding of the sport, particularly the challenges faced by female fighters. “Kisha Snow was a national amateur boxing champion and a Golden Gloves champion,” Salita said. “She used to knock men out in the gym. She was ahead of her time.”

Their relationship was personal as well as professional. Snow herself joked about it years later: “I became like his groupie, basically,” she said of her presence around Salita’s circle in the gym when they were young. That closeness helped shape Salita’s outlook as a promoter who would later guide globally recognized champions (most notably Claressa Shields) and pushed him to advocate for equality in opportunities and exposure for women’s boxing.

Snow’s career was inevitably limited by the realities of her time. The heavyweight division offered few consistent opponents and national media coverage was sparse. Even early 2020s boxing writers have reflected that if Snow competed in today’s environment, with social media platforms, streaming exposure, and Pay‑Per‑View opportunities, her name might be far more widely known.

“She had that star potential,” noted boxing historian Thomas Gerbasi, recalling Snow’s performances during the height of her career. Former heavyweight contender Monte Barrett, who knew Snow from gym days, said of her impact: “We didn’t look at her as Kisha. We looked at her as Big George [Foreman]. Back then, there were not a lot of women boxing.”

Today, Snow lives outside the glare of mainstream boxing, with her fighting days nearly three decades behind her. However, her influence quietly echoes through the sport. “It was a fantastic journey,” she said with characteristic candor. “I cannot lie.”

Kisha Snow is undeniably part of the foundation upon which today’s female fighters stand.

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