Recently, I have joined a boxing club in East Dulwich. It has really inspired me to find out more about women in boxing and how the sport for women has become so popular. Boxing has been an underground sport since the 1700s, however, only in 1990 was boxing for women widely accepted, as there has been a debate on whether or not boxing for women is ‘ethical’ enough. Women’s boxing used to be talked of as a health risk, it was frowned upon and horribly judged. People would make sexist remarks. Luckily the times have changed.
In 2009, the IOC accepted women’s boxing as an Olympic sport and handed it’s inaugural Championships in London (2012). Don King (a sports promoter) made money by using the disagreement surrounding female boxing, until realising that there was much talent and good quality around his clients. 2010 was also a big year because that was when the BBC broadcast women’s boxing for the first time on UK TV! The worlds first Olympic women’s boxing champion, Nicola Adams, became the worlds first Women Boxing MBE. Boxing is an amazing sport. It requires concentration, commitment and strength. If you do not have these skills, then boxing really helps you to develop and maintain them. Of course, one doesn't have to join for the fighting, many people decide to join for the fitness. I believe boxing is also a key part of self defence.
I am very happy that women have started to become more interested in the sport. However, like every sport there comes health risks. Statistics have shown that many women (and men) have suffered from bleeding brains, torn muscles, black eyes and broken ribs, so there have been several attempts to ban it by the British Medical Association. According to some surveys, the number of registered female boxers rose from 70 (in 2005) to over 900 (in 2009). Now, roughly 20,500 women participate in boxing clubs every week! Ron Tulley (England Boxing’s head of Development) said that “Women now make up nearly 21% of boxing participation, an amazing increase given the sport was only recently considered a male only activity”.
There are two types of boxing that also count for women. There is professional and amateur boxing. Professional boxing tends to have ten to twelve rounds of the fight, amateur fights last roughly four rounds or less. Boxers wear protective gear including larger gloves and headgear. Women have the option to wear chest plates, as it is an un-official rule that women don’t punch the chest area. Despite all the old controversy surrounding female boxing, I do believe that in the last decade it has become much more widely accepted and a much more popular sport. It is something that I very much enjoy, and I look forward to going to the club every week. Also, as I mentioned earlier, it is a key part of self defence and being aware of the area or space around you. It is good to find a sport you love doing, it can boost your self esteem and in general make you stronger mentally and physically. Not only that, it can improve your commitment skills and create a new path in your life that you didn't even know was possible.
