Greatest female boxers of all time

Boxing has long been perceived as a mainly masculine sport: women’s boxing was only formally recognized at the 13th International Boxing Association congress in 1994, and made its Olympic debut in 2012. But women have been boxing for years, and the sport is on the rise in both the professional and amateur spheres, making it one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

In recent years, a wide range of skilled female athletes have been giving their all in the ring, breaking records and making history, and a number of dominant stars have emerged. Any ranking of the greatest female boxers is bound to be subjective, hinging on a number of factors including weight class, accomplishments, and personal opinion.

However, several female boxers have made undeniably significant contributions to the sport, and are often regarded as among the greatest female boxers of all time. Here are a few of them, listed in no particular order:

• Amanda Serrano (Puerto Rico): Serrano is a versatile boxer who has held world titles in multiple weight classes. She is known for her knockout power and her ability to adapt to different weight divisions, and is ranked just behind Manny Pacquiao in terms of title wins across different weight divisions. Serrano is a preternaturally talented boxer with 30 wins via knockout, but she is also multi-talented, and has turned her hand to MMA bouts and pro wrestling in recent years.
• Regina Halmich (Germany): Halmich has held multiple world titles in the super flyweight and flyweight divisions and helped raise the profile of women’s boxing in Europe, becoming one of the most popular female boxers in Germany in the process. Since announcing her retirement in 2007, Halmich has branched out into the world of business, becoming one of the first female boxers to launch her own line of cosmetics.
• Christina Hammer (Germany): Christina Hammer has long been a dominant force in the middleweight division, holding multiple world titles as well as an impressive undefeated record. She is known for her patient and methodical boxing style, using jabs to wear her opponents down while using increasingly aggressive follow-up rights to finish the job.
• Laila Ali (United States): Laila Ali is the daughter of the legendary Muhammad Ali, and has had a successful career in multiple weight classes in her own right, retiring undefeated in 2007. Her charisma and skill made her one of the most recognizable stars in the sport, and she is widely regarded by insiders as one of the greatest female professional boxers of all time.
• Ann Wolfe (United States): Wolfe held world titles in multiple weight divisions and is considered one of the hardest-hitting female boxers in history, due to her formidable punching power and aggressive fighting style. Since retiring, she has trained many amateur and professional boxers, including her oldest daughter, Jennifer Fenn.
• Lucia Rijker (Netherlands): Once dubbed “The Most Dangerous Woman in the World,” Lucia Rijker is a kickboxing and boxing champion known for her striking skills. She won multiple titles across several weight categories, and was inducted to the International Women’s and International Boxing Halls of Fame, having gone undefeated throughout her professional career.
• Clarissa Shields (United States): Clarissa Shields is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a dominant force in women’s boxing, who held multiple world titles in various weight divisions and is known for her technical skills. In addition to her dominance in the ring, Shields has become a major advocate for equal pay for female fighters.
• Cecilia Brækhus (Norway): Brækhus, known as the “First Lady” of boxing, was a dominant force in the welterweight division. She held multiple world titles and had an impressive undefeated record during her career, becoming one of only ten boxers in the history of the sport to hold all four major titles at the same time.
• Katie Taylor (Ireland): Katie Taylor is a highly accomplished amateur boxer who transitioned to professional boxing and became a unified lightweight world champion. She is known for her exceptional technique and Olympic success, making her a must-see performer in the UK and abroad. Taylor’s fight against Amanda Serrano in April 2022 set a new viewership record for women’s boxing, with a capacity crowd of 20,000 people at Madison Square Garden and a further 1.5m viewers tuning in via streaming.
• Christy Martin (United States): One of the most important figures in women’s boxing history, Christy Martin’s longevity and indomitable attitude has confirmed her status as one of the top fighters in women’s boxing. Known as “The Coal Miner’s Daughter”, she made her pro debut in 1989 and won the WBC super-welterweight title in 2009, before her induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.