I agree with this. And for self defense anything that can help a woman is great and I think boxing can def help but as u said it’s not to fight a man purely to get away or bring enough attention that he goes away.
I’m proper impressed with the change in attitudes on here to women’s boxing. This was brought up on a thread ages back and the majority were very set against it and refused to watch it. Katie Taylor is very skilful, technically she’s better than a lot of blokes. She will lack natural power due to bone and muscle mass, but her movement and flexibility means she can throw shots from all angles, she’s like a female Lomachenko. Unfortunately the level of competition is dire, hopefully that’ll change.
I really like watching Katie Taylor - she's a ball of energy with good punch variety. Would be good to see more of the like of her. My wife is against women's boxing but I say that's discrimination - but aint no point arguing with her on this (or anything).
Just remembered something I witnessed about about 10 years ago- mid 20s female who had trained in boxing, who at that point had not had any fights although I believe she did go on to fight amateur eventually. She and a group of mates were camping. One of the fellas (at least a foot taller than her and about 5 stones heavier, and pretty fit as he was into regular running and circuit training) made the classic mistake. On hearing she had taken up boxing, he uttered the famous last words "hit ME then". She feinted a one-two to the face, switched stances then landed a single right hook to the body that floored him instantly (before she skipped away sideways out of any potential danger). He was lying there for ages-wouldn't have beaten a 10 minute count, let alone a 10 second one. Literally. A few bystanders thought she'd hit him in the balls because of the way he fell but I saw the (legit) body shot with my own eyes. Think he must have been pretty winded. She then got very concerned because her mate wasn't getting up, poked him in the ribs with her foot a few times, and offered to call an ambulance. Luckily he was just winded and did eventually get back on his feet. This lass was about 5ft 2 and about 8 stone, and her mate was at least a foot taller, several stones heavier and very fit (although granted had no fighting experience). I know she couldn't have have the same effect on an experienced fighter as they'd had developed punch resistance. In fact the reason she was so suprised and concerned at his reaction was that she'd been sparring for months, thrown far more (and taken more) body shots from bigger guys and had never knocked anyone down before. She was extremely baffled. I was (secretly) very impressed. So while I stand by my earlier comments of- in a self-defence situation throw the fewest, quickest hardest punches you can then run the **** away- it just shows that it doesn't pay for people to get too c0ck*y. An 8st woman who punches her weight may not be as helpless as you think. And obviously while I realise this kind of stuff doesn't happen every day, it is possible. Rare perhaps, but possible. Not sure why i told this story really. Just an old memory that came flooding back whilst reading the thread. Perhaps subconsciously it's the reason I'd want any kids of mine (especially girls) to learn how to fight. And react and run fast which boxers can usually do as part of their training anyway.
Twentyman "Unfortunately the level of competition is dire, hopefully that’ll change." I think a lot of the problems concerning lack of competition for good boxers like Taylor and Adams stems from the traditional hostility towards girls boxing- not many girls would have had the means to overcome that (Taylor and Adams were exceptions- they both had plenty of encouragement), so either the dream died entirely, or they waited until they were adults and could do what they wanted. But as mentioned before, by the time you're an adult you've lost valuable time that could have been used developing skills, so you are always playing catch-up. I think the situation will change, but maybe not for a couple of decades.
Boils down to the fact that the numbers involved are much smaller than with males. Lots of women try boxing and like it bit as mentioned it's far too late by then. But the grass roots path from a young age is not firmly established yet
****** tennis. Women's boxing is all well and good for women if they want to do it, fair play to them. Do I want to watch it? No because it is ****. Lets be honest most boxing is **** but at the highest level it is THE best sport. Women will never be at that level.
I would rather watch a women's professional football match than a repeat of the Liverpool v Man Utd stinker today
Not sure why you brought up tennis or what the swear filter censored. Tennis is absolutely hardcore, men's or women's. Often playing in searing heat, a singles match in the morning and likely a doubles in the afternoon. There is no off season or chance for a rest. At least if you're a pro boxer you can fight once a year, snort coke and beat up your wife (I would never do this btw in case that came out wrong) and various other people in your spare time and no-one minds. I'd rather compete in boxing than tennis any day. Even though the money is astronomical in tennis and p1ss poor in boxing unless you're a successful male heavyweight. Apologies if I misunderstood the swear filter and you were complimenting tennis players after all. Personally I wouldn't swap sports in a million years despite the money. But of course you have every right to watch whatever you want. No arguments there. One day the skill level may be the same. But I have a feeling that in a few years a female boxer will come along who will be so entertaining that no-one will care the she doesn't have the Mayweather level of skills (not including domestic violence wimp "skills" in this- purely pro boxing). You know what boxing is missing recently? Excitement. Which is why so many fans are turning to MMA. Sure you need a certain level of defence to protect yourself- but that can mean an average level of defensive skill but great offensive punching from awkward angles. Which cause knockouts. Nothing puts bums on seats more than knockouts. And competitive matches. Personally I blame the obsession with unbeaten records. But that's a whole other thread and a whole other rant.
I've tried to get female friends of mine into boxing and at the gym I go to (that's right fellas, this keyboard warrior is evolving) there are more women than I'd expect to see. All the same, the talent pool is much lower at the moment. Like, incredibly so. And to be truthful I've no interest in really watching Katie Taylor at the moment either because the fights are playing out like Okolie/Cordina vs TBA. Tell you another female who really can box as well, Christina Hammer. And look I hate to spoil the progression made in this thread but my word I am absolutely in love with that woman. I digress, I approach women's boxing on TV the same with the male prospects in the sense that you'll have my attention when the fights are competitive. But I am glad to see more women getting involved anyway.
I’m all for progression and equality, I can’t believe we’re in 2017 and we still have huge disparities between men and women in most professions and sports. Woman are our equals and deserve to be treated so and i’ll always speak up for that....however, the list of female boxers below would proper get sausaged (in the upmost respectful way...) Cecila Braekhus, Laila Ali, Natasha Jonas, Savannah Marshall, Regina Halmich, Marlen Esparza, Amanda Serrano, Yesica Bopp....
There are obvious physiological differences between male and female athletes but in terms of grass roots training and subsequent progression, things are improving, but there is still a long way to go. I think it's pathetic that women's boxing was only re-introduced into the Olympics in 2012, and even now there are only 3 weight categories avaiable to them in comparison to the 10 for men. Btw Twentyman, "proper get sausaged?" Are you Kevin Mitchell in disguise? (Said with the utmost respect btw!)
Totally agree. My daughter plays footy, a sport that was banned by the FA in 1921 and only reintroduced in the 70’s. It’s never recovered. They used to get big attendances back then, too ie. 50,000 watched a team from Preston play St Helens ladies at Goodison in 1920. When it got banned, they went over to America to play 3 games. They thought they were playing women’s teams. They turned out to be men. They won 1, drawn 1 and lost 1. Nowt to do with boxing I appreciate but to turn our nose up at women’s boxing is to act no better than the muppets who banned women’s football.
