(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Slowly but surely, women’s boxing is climbing up out of the shadows, earning a new respectability. It is now even being considered as an Olympic event. Women’s boxing never flourished for a number of reasons, but that is beginning to change.
And if taken in the right direction, it could rival men’s boxing as an attraction.
In the past, women’s boxing didn’t flourish for cultural reasons, as the general public was not used to seeing women punching each other, getting swollen up, etc.
Once people got used to the idea of women doing something as unladylike as boxing, the next reason female boxing didn’t flourish was because the female boxers had horrible skills and many looked like ugly men.
In the 1990s, the sport took a turn for the better as Christy Martin appeared on the scene and became its biggest name at the time. Martin was successful because, although she was not very pretty, she wasn't horrible either, and she looked like a woman.
She also had decent boxing skills and was able to produce exciting knockouts for the cameras. Nevertheless, Martin was the lone decent looking female boxer wading in a pool of sea boors. Further, she had no legitimate challengers.
Next, along came Laila Ali, arguably the hottest woman to ever put on a pair of boxing gloves. But she was too big for Martin, although they eventually did fight in a mismatch.
Currently, women’s boxing has somewhat slowed down again on the professional level. But there is a lot of potential.
What this sport needs in order to truly go mainstream is something to take it over the top. The feminists and the cynics need to put their money where their mouths are and stop holding women back. Female boxers have been forced to wear tops while fighting.
Why?
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