Grrl Power: The Official Women's Boxing S̶u̶p̶e̶r̶. Wonder-Thread

Here is a schedule of all upcoming women's championship matches:

• Heather Hardy vs. Amanda Serrano, 9/13 @ MSG in NYC - featherweight
• Nicola Virginia Adams vs. María del Carmen Salinas Corpus, 9/27 @ Royal Albert Hall in London - flyweight
• Geovana De Cassia Peres vs. Claire Hafner, 10/04 @ Sky City Convention Center in Auckland - light heavyweight
• Claressa Maria Shields vs. Ivana Habazin, 10/05 @ Dort Federal Event Center in Flint - super welterweight

All of the above happen to be for WBO titles. Currently no title bouts are officially scheduled under the WBC, IBF, or WBA.

For those who may not have been aware, the women's side of the sport used to have a completely different "Big Four", in terms of sanctioning bodies generally viewed as being legitimately able to issue 'world' title credentialing. They were the IWBF (the International Women's Boxing Federation, which is essentially defunct since 2013 when its last belt was contested over), the IFBA (the International Female Boxer's Association, which hasn't sanctioned a bout since 2015), the WIBA (the Women's International Boxing Association, which as of this year does still have recognized titlists in the following divisions: super middle, bantam, super feather, straw, and super lightweight) and the WIBF (the Women's International Boxing Federation, which like the WIBA is sputtering along with a handful of belt holders, currently at: lightweight, super light, fly, and light fly). Historically these were the ones a female boxer needed to capture to be taken seriously, and have been worn by the likes of Christy Martin, Chevelle Hallback, Holly Holm, Jelena Mrdjenovich (in her early reigns), Anne Wolfe, and Laila Ali. There has been a shift recently towards assimilating with the corresponding men's Big 4, all of which are now involved with the women's side although for a long time all of them either weren't, or were just barely.

A blockbuster rematch between Katie Taylor and Delfine Persoon might rank as the biggest fight on the wish-list of everyone that follows women's boxing. Each side has affirmed their interest, so it could well materialize in the near future.

Some additional resources:

• 2014 Fighters of the Year (♀) - Cecilia Brækhus & Delfine Persoon
• Hyun Mi "Defector Girl Boxer" Choi
• WBAN - probably the oldest women's boxing site on the internet

 

Thread rules:

1. if you don't enjoy women's boxing, great, keep it to yourself.
2. if you don't even think it should exist, great, keep it to yourself.
3. if your only contributions are to discuss a given athlete's "fuckability" (or lack thereof), please refrain; you can do so elsewhere.
4. if you junk up my thread w/ excess of snide & sexist jokes, the material will be deleted and depending on how many polite warnings you ignore, you may well catch a ban.
5. just don't be a dick.

 

It was, for years. Things are looking up, kinda, slowly but surely. If you can't see the worth in a fight like Taylor vs. Persoon II or Brækhus then I really can't think what it'll take for you to be convinced.

Aye, there's your odd freak show on top getting like Shields getting by on physicality alone, but is she any more a dumpster fire (in terms of technique, or attitude) than, say, Wilder, tbh?

I think MMA, kickboxing, and even pro wrestling making space for "tough chicks" and legitimizing them in a mainstream sense will ultimately be for the benefit of women's boxing. More gals in gyms, picking up the skills, and then down the road they'll be in good, watchable fights.

 

If she does, she would be quite arguably the greatest active p4p boxer from Puerto Rico, irrespective of gender. Her competition at present would be: Pedraza, Matías, McWilliams Arroyo and Bimbito Méndez. Hardly the strongest class the island has ever produced.

 

I've been having a long hard look at Habazin (not like that, you pervs! ) btw, and honestly she has got some game...if only she had a lick of power I'd say that she had a chance to do us all the favor of exposing Shields.

 

My picks:

Serrano TKO Hardy
Adams UD Salinas
Peres MD Hafner
Shields TKO Habazin (but god I'd love to be wrong!!!)