I don't know how many of those Twitter Hampton women would buy any fight though. I'd be happy to put money on it being almost zero.
To be fair, this percentage would increase considerably if they just increased the round time from 2 to 3 minutes. We’ve all seen female fighters run out of time when they’ve been very close to a stoppage. Ironically, Taylor was grateful for the bell a couple of times against Persoon. The talent pool is tiny but as unpalatable as many find it, the only way it grows is by giving it lots of exposure. Look at the Lionesses now after all their exposure on terrestrial tv...they sold out the Riverside Stadium (30,000) against Brazil and they’ve sold out Wembley for their next game. I can tell you at schoolgirl level it’s never been as popular and there are some really good kids coming through. I’ve read a few posts on here giving credit to the quality of ladies MMA fights, how much of this is down to the success/profile of Ronda Rousey?
Rousey was a huge crossover star and helped bring women's MMA into the mainstream. I recall Dana White had little interest in women in the UFC until Rousey came along and he saw the $ involved. Even before Rousey though, women in MMA had a bigger foothold than in boxing. Gina Carano was on the cusp of making it big before she ran into Cyborg, and it seemed to quickly get acceptance in a way that women's boxing did not. Women's matches were fairly prominent on Strikeforce, Bellator and other promotions. Women's MMA was well established in Japan while Rousey was still competing in Judo. Again, combination of factors really. Women are far more likely to get involved in BJJ, Judo or even kickboxing than boxing, so there is a deeper talent pool with a solid base to get into MMA. It's a newer sport so less of an established hierachy and protocol to deal with, and the demographic is generally younger and (IMHO) more comfortable with the idea of women in combat sports. Knockouts are more common with knees and kicks, where women are relatively stronger. Ironically, Rousey had her bubble burst in the UFC by an ex-boxer who transitioned into MMA after getting annihilated by the biggest puncher in women's boxing (I guess that makes a bit of a mockery of the talent pool theory).
Mathis has 23 stoppages in 27 wins (should be 24 in 28 with the Hammer fight), and has plenty of highlight reel knockouts. But agreed, generally you're less likely to see knockouts in women's boxing.
Just winging it with the help of google. No-one cares about women's sports so doubt anyone will notice the difference.
They've not done her any justice with that poster have they? She looks alright in other pics. They've got Christina in an almost Wonder Woman style pose, flowing hair and a beautiful coloured belt, then Gifty cut and pasted in, all grey, hunched and with big man arms. Stewards enquiry!
The lazy devils! They used her boxrec image for the poster. What a bunch of cheapskates. https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/484061
I'd heard of that Christina Hammer, but that's the first time I've actually saw her. Very nice. Shifty Gifty looks about fifty in that photo.
Check out Ebanie Bridges, I'm waiting for the day her implants rupture in the ring, the girl better be careful!
