The scoring of boxing events at the 2012 London Olympics was a mess. Yes, we were thrilled to finally see the ban against women’s boxing in the Olympic Games lifted, and despite heavy inequalities between the number of men versus the number of women allowed to compete, there was a tremendous showing of support. But the outdated, inefficient, and highly-variable computerized scoring rules that have governed amateur boxing for years finally caused enough problems to grease the wheels of massive change in the sport.
The International Boxing Association (AIBA), the body which governs USA Boxing, hammered out several long-awaited changes to the scoring system to bring sanctioned amateur boxing more into line with the way pro boxing is scored. (more…)
I’m still reeling from the sheer pleasure of watching 17-year-old Claressa Shields (USA, pictured above) light up London’s Olympic boxing ring in her semifinal bout against Sweden’s Anna Laurell. The two were 12-12 after three rounds, and I’d love to know what happened in Claressa’s brain and body that caused her to launch into high gear and take down the very worthy Laurell with a blur of blistering punches in the fourth.
To see that fight was to absolutely fall in love all over again with women’s boxing.
My hope for the women’s Olympic boxing this year was that we would raise awareness (“Hey, women can box!”) and respect (“Hey, women can box really well!”), and finally get some long-deserved media coverage and attention.
I believe we’ve already achieved those goals, and more besides. And the games aren’t even over!
My own journey into boxing
I never even knew there were women who boxed until five years ago, when I stumbled into a local LA Boxing on a friend’s recommendation. Even then, I was boxing for fitness, and only ventured into the ring when I realized it was an avenue open — and in my case, positively welcoming — to me. For that I repeatedly thank my very first trainer, pro fighter and world champion Bonnie Mann. Not everybody has someone of that caliber to welcome them into the ring.
As I began to find my feet in boxing, I searched online for boxing friends, news, and reports about women’s fights, and was shocked at the lack of coverage and overall low media interest. Although I found WBAN right away, it seemed crazy to me that my little blog was one of the few places publishing regularly about the journey into women’s boxing.
It took years, but the small blogroll you see on my site is the full list of people and places I’ve come across that are writing primarily about women’s boxing. Short list, but great people.
And there are even more people supporting women’s boxing via Facebook. I only opened a Facebook page for The Glowing Edge eight months ago (please click over and gimme a “Like!”), and I’m just now starting to discover those boxers, trainers, fans, filmmakers, writers, and others who simply love women’s boxing and are helping keep the conversation and cheers going.
And now the Olympics
All these years women have waited to be allowed into the Olympic ring, and now look at us! I wanted so much for us — and by us I mean ALL the women boxers, from every nation that sent them, as well as those who tried but didn’t get their fighters in — to win some attention for the very real sacrifices we’ve made, the long hours we put in, and the beautiful, powerful way we pursue our sport.
And it is our sport, too. The inclusion of women’s boxing in this year’s Olympics offers the first real world-wide validation of this reality, and while we still have plenty of battles to fight (the big one in my mind right now is to be granted more than 3 Olympic weight categories) before there’s real acceptance, it’s a tremendous step in the right direction.
What thankfully didn’t happen, and what did
My fear was that the women’s fights would be riddled with scoring controversies (see here for more about the atrocious computer scoring system, which is thankfully on it’s way out), or widely ignored by the media. But that simply hasn’t happened.
While we’re not finished with the final rounds, the press coverage has been great — a flood of attention and big, fat, emails from my Google alerts every day, as opposed to the anemic once-a-month-at-best mentions that were often in an article about a male boxer as sort of a “if I have to” attempt at gender equality.
And here comes Team USA storming out of the gates, swooping up two medals already, out of the three women we sent.
This stands in stark comparison to the nine men on the US boxing team, none of whom were still in the running for a medal until Errol Spence’s results were overturned, putting him into the quarterfinals for the US team’s only shot at having one of the men on the stand. The utterly unexpected series defeats in the men’s squad originally sparked lots of media trash talk about how the US amateur boxing program is riddled with problems — then here come the women, who perform like the boxing powerhouses they are. I haven’t heard any yet, but I hope to hear stories of how the guys were there supporting their female teammates all the way. That would be a real gift, wouldn’t it?
And still to come
All of this is happening, and we still have more to go.
Just imagine what it will sound like during the Finals!
SO. If you missed today’s fights, definitely check out Alex McClintock’s fantastic recap. And my picks for the rest of the Olympic boxing matches are as follows:
1. Marlen Esparza (USA) will beat Ren CanCan (China)
After seeing Marlen’s sizzling speed and style today, in comparison with Ren’s slower, less technical fight, I’m thinking Marlen will take it, despite having lost to Ren before the Olympics.
2. Mery Kom (India) will beat Nicola Adams (GB)
This one is tough, but I absolutely have to cheer for Mery (I’ve been spelling it Mary, but the London Olympics site spells it Mery, so I’m switching).
1. Katie Taylor (Ireland) will win over Mavzuna Chorieva (TJK)
This one is too easy. Wish we’d had a different draw, but there you have it.
2. Sofya Ochigava (Russia) will beat out Adriana Araujo (Brazil)
Hard to call, as I’m not very familiar with either fighter, but I’m expecting Sofya to simply have a higher punch count. Sofya is also a former kickboxing champion, with a long history of competing.
1. Claressa Shields (USA) GOTTA win over Marina Volnova (KAZ)
I’m pinning everything on this stick of US dynamite, especially after today’s incredible fireworks. C’mon young lady, you can do it!
2. Jinzi Li (China) will defeat Nadezda Torlopova (Russia)
I didn’t see Nadezda’s fight, but she is fresher by virtue of her first round bye. Jinzi is still my favorite, and did a great job against Mary Spencer (Canada) today.
Five time World Champion boxer Mary Kom may be India’s best hope for Olympic gold at the 2012 Games. Ameesha Joshi wants to help tell her story.
Ameesha is one of two documentary filmmakers who has been following the Indian women’s boxing team for 6 years now. Their story will end in just a few days at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where Mary Kom could be the first Indian woman ever to go home with the gold.
Co-director and Cinematographer Anna Sarkissian is in Liverpool right now with Mary Kom for her final days of training.
The 35-strong Indian women’s national boxing team trains year-round, six days a week in blistering heat and heavy downpours. As you can imagine, women’s boxing is neither popular nor widely accepted in India, where many women are pressured to marry and abandon their career aspirations.
With This Ring
The film Ameesha and Sarkissian are making is called With This Ring, and it goes inside the training camps and into the boxers’ lives as they push their bodies to the limit and strive to balance their responsibilities as dutiful daughters, wives, and as in Mary Kom’s case, mothers.
“The topic fascinated us for many reasons,” said Joshi, co-director of the film. “India has some of the best women boxers in the world. They have risen to the top from very humble circumstances.”
“Although I grew up in Canada, my parents emigrated from India and I’m aware of the cultural expectations and could imagine some of the criticism these woman would’ve faced. We knew we had found some extraordinary trailblazers and their inspirational stories needed to be shared.”
Cinematographer and co-director Sarkissian expressed similar thoughts. “I’ve always been really interested in stories that would otherwise be overlooked or forgotten,” she commented.
“As for what intrigues me about these women: they are so unique, and yet unassuming. For a long time, they didn’t really understand why we were interested in filming them. Despite a few perks, they live tough lives, and train in difficult conditions to pursue a sport that many might consider laughable. I have profound respect for the amount of discipline, physical and mental strength that boxing requires and am in awe of their dedication.”
When the two started this project six years ago, several of these Indian women were ranked #1 in the world – and yet they were completely unknown.
Now Mary Kom is leading the charge to the London 2012 Games in the hopes of bringing home gold and gaining the respect of her fellow Indians.
And maybe even changing the way society thinks about women’s boxing.
In general, it’s fairly exciting news that the entire 2012 US Olympic team will have more women competing this year than men; that’s a first, and a proud tribute to the 40-year anniversary of Title IX, the landmark law that assured more athletic opportunities for millions of girls and women across the United States. In all, there will be 286 boxers, with 36 of them women. The U.S. will be sending a total of three female fighters: Marlen Esparza, Claressa Shields and Queen Underwood.
The limitations opportunities for growth
Yes, the women have only 3 weight divisions — flyweight (106-112 pounds), lightweight (123-132 pounds), and middleweight (152-165 pounds) — to the men’s 10 weight divisions.
As of today, shortly before the Olympic competition begins, there is still only one photo of female contenders on the official Olympic website boxing “featured photos” page. Maybe that will change soon; this is history in the making after all.
And in a related note, one hopes that the women’s boxing teams will not have to fly coach while the men’s teams go first class, like Australia’s female soccer and basketball teams and the Japanese women’s Olympic soccer team. Sigh.
Finally, while I was thrilled to hear that Afghanistan was working to field a team of Olympic hopefuls, I was deeply disappointed when top favorite Sadaf Rahimi lost her only chance at a wild card invite (a special berth granted to nations that would not otherwise be able to qualify). Her performance at the women’s world boxing championships in China was not promising, with her fight being stopped short a minute and 20 seconds into the first round because she was doing so poorly. Next time, maybe these incredible women will get more resources and have a better shot at qualification.
The schedule
The women’s Olympic boxing rounds begin on August 5th (Round of 16), and continue on August 6th (Quarterfinals), August 8th (Semifinals), and end on August 9th (Finals). NBC will will televise 73 total hours of boxing coverage over 16 days, from elimination bouts to the men’s and women’s finals. Same-day coverage will air from 2 to 5 p.m. during the week, with six hours of live coverage airing each day on the weekends.
To satisfy cable and satellite operators, NBC is requiring viewers to prove that they have a cable or satellite subscription in order to access the online options. Which sucks for people like me, who don’t have a television at all. You can bet I’ll be looking for other options.
You can find the full boxing schedule as well as the fight results on the London 2012 website.
The women to watch
I’m hard pressed to narrow this down to only 5 fighters, and for me the real battle will be in the flyweight division, as you’ll see.
Taylor first made Irish boxing history at age 15 in the first officially sanctioned women’s bout ever held in Ireland (she won). She’s the top seed in the women’s competition, and has a bye straight into the quarter-finals.
She’s picked up plenty of media attention — including a Lucozade commercial that shows her tearing up the heavy bag. That commercial came out shortly after she first came to my attention, and she’s been my fave contender the whole way.
Definitely an Olympic underdog, 28-year-old lightweight fighter Quanitta “Queen” Underwood won her berth in the Olympics at the last minute.
Underwood is a five-time national champion who won the first US Olympic boxing team trials in February. But she dropped a one-point decision to Norway’s Ingrid Egner in the world championship prelims, falling just short of Olympic qualification.
She came up rough, with few advantages. A father in prison, running with the wrong crowd, a failed suicide attempt. At the age of 19, she began the process of becoming Queen, the boxer. She racked up loss after loss, but boxing kept Queen away from her self-destructive lifestyle. In 2007, her persistence paid off and she captured her first championship.
She loved that first taste of victory, and she hasn’t stopped drinking from the cup of champions since.
I hate that she’s fighting in the same weight division as my top favorite, Ireland’s Katie Taylor. But the chance for glory is there, and Queen certainly has the capability and heart to grab it.
29-year-old flyweight Mary Kom, born Mangte Chungneijang Merykom, is a mother of two and the only woman boxer from India to qualify for the London Games. Kom is from a tiny village in a remote area of India, but she’s the only boxer in world to have won a medal in each one of the six World Championships (five gold, one silver), and she’s currently ranked world no. 4 in her division by AIBA.
24-year-old flyweight Ren Cancan is a product of the powerful Chinese athlete creation machine, and she’s the one for Mary Kom to beat, if she can. (Cancan has already beaten Marlen Esparza, also on my list below.)
She started boxing late, after switching to boxing from hurdling in 2002. She’s a police officer in China, from a very small southern province of Guizhou, and has made her way up in a very cold climate for women’s boxing. Her trainer Tian Dong noted “Women’s boxing entering the Olympics will have an impact on the sport here and there, but I don’t think it will affect overall conditions.”
Esparza grew up watching Julio Cesar Chavez fight on television, and she has much of his lightning-fast speed. She knows that when fighting outside the U.S., boxing styles differ, and she’s ready for the challenge. “In the U.S. you stay flat and hit with power. Outside the U.S. you try to bounce and be quick,” explained Esparza.
Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, the third fighter for Team USA, is not in my top faves, but she might just surprise the watching world by snagging a medal.
At 17, she’s the youngest on the U.S. team, and she boasted a 26-0 record until suffering her first loss on the road to qualifying for the London games. But she prevailed against the odds, and now she’s bouncing determinedly in her corner, waiting for her shot at victory.
It’s International Women’s Day, and two very interesting things are on my mind.
The first is this awesome video of a 5 year old girl working the pads with style and power.
I wish I had more information about her, but I know this: someone, somewhere, has exposed her to boxing and has allowed and encouraged her to build up formidable skill for one so young. You don’t get this good at pads by showing up at the gym a time or two; this is passion and practice, and no 5 year old gets here unless there are some adults supporting it.
It makes me feel incredible to think that very young women, and not just young men, are being shown the possibilities for their sport — and that those possibilities include boxing.
In the same way, I salute all the remarkable young women who will compete in the first-ever female division of boxing in the Olympics this year. Here are links to the first two sets of women in line for that honor: Olympic Trials Winners and National Championship Winners.
Congratulations on being such an incredible part of boxing history! Sorry it took so long.
The second thing on my mind is the upcoming match between two world-champion boxing icons, Christy Martin (49-6, 31 KOs) and Mia St. John (46-11, 18 KOs).
For Christy, age 43, this is a chance to secure not only the 50th win of her incredible career and the World Boxing Council (WBC) World Super Welterweight Belt, but also a chance to show the world that the violent stabbing and shooting attack of her ex-husband Jim in 2010 was not the final word the world would hear from Christy.
For Mia, age 44, this fight is a chance to claim the win that eluded her 10 years ago when she was 26-1-1, and battled Christy through a 10-round war for the WBC world championship. That fight finally secured the world’s attention for Mia, and definitively proved her power and worth in the boxing world. She expects to redeem that loss against Christy and secure the final win of her career.
On June 19th, 2012, in the highly-acclaimed and long-awaited Final Victory fight, Martin and St. John will box for the last time, and the winner will take home the World Boxing Council (WBC) World Super Welterweight Belt.
Here’s a video of rounds 2-5 of their last fight for you to enjoy…
Here’s to boxing girls and women, from 5 to 50 (and forgive me, Mia and Christy, for stretching the ages for the sake of a blog post title!).
Having just moved to a new boxing gym, I’m once again reminded of how hard it is to make inroads into a new gym, a new team. I don’t mean overcoming the reluctance to train, but rather the simple and profound fear of boxing itself, and all the insanely hard work it takes to stand in the ring.
Part of my newly re-awakened dread has to do with moving up several levels to train with a much more intense, powerful, competitive crew. I really did think I was in shape until I showed up at Second Round, and I’ve been struggling for several weeks to be able to train there two days in a row, without at least one or two days in between to recover.
So my first tactic in fighting the dread of boxing training is — crazily enough — to train harder.
My husband thinks it’s ironic that I run several miles, jump rope for 20 minutes and do hurdles on my “off” days. But we’re both starting to understand that some of that off-day training has to do with a mental leap that I’m making every time I show up at the new boxing gym. I need to know that I’m capable of working hard on my own, that I can endure the heat and the struggle without someone urging me forward; I need to believe that I’m doing this because I choose to do it, even on the days I don’t love it. The power is mine.
I also maintain a fair amount of mental radio silence.
Every day that I plan to go to the new gym I start to get gut churn around noon. I could give myself pep talks, but I’ve found that there really isn’t anything I can say to convince myself not to sweat it so hard. Boxing training is not about talk, it’s about work.
You would think that I might have learned this life lesson by now. It’s true in my writing, which I do both professionally and recreationally. I don’t waste much time telling myself that I should write, or that I’m good at writing. I don’t spend much time planning my writing, either: I write. I sit down, power up my laptop, and do it. I make mistakes, I edit, I polish, I publish; that’s how it gets done.
Unless I’m actually prepping for a fight, it doesn’t help me to think about boxing training in advance. Instead, I have to jam the channel. I mentally tune my brainwaves to a smooth light hiss, not unlike the sound of the ocean. And I trust myself to be able to face it when I’m actually stepping into the gym.
It can be difficult to accept all the unknowns in boxing.
If there’s a sparring opportunity, I get in the ring. It’s the hardest thing in boxing to do this, over and over again. And everyone who has ever rolled under the ropes understands firsthand how terrifying it can be to not know anything about the person you are about to fight. But there are other, more common unknowns as well.
For example, I’m still learning how training happens in my new gym. There doesn’t seem to be a regular way of doing things (regardless of any schedule that may or may not exist), but team training does come together under the direction of a coach sometimes; it’s almost like the conditions just have to be a certain way for it to happen — and you have to be there at the right time to catch the wave.
You also have to be willing to drop in on the wave when it happens.
I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep up. I don’t know if I’ll hold back the entire team, or be able to give my drill partner the kind of work they want and need. I don’t know if I’ll slip the right way or get repeatedly punched in the face. But I’ll never know unless I jump in and take my place with the team. No one invites me to join in; I have to do it myself. But every time I’ve stepped forward, I’ve won another small nod of respect from my teammates and coaches.
I’ve learned that I perform well under pressure.
Channeling fear into energy takes practice. There are always plenty of fighters who are better than you. There are four boxers currently in the Olympic pre-qualification process at my small urban gym. Four! They are extremely skilled and they work far harder than I do, every day. It can be intimidating for me to walk in and share a heavy bag with one of them, or join their training rotation, but I do it. I work very hard to channel that intimidation into training energy in the same way that I let faster runners spur me on. And while I might find that I don’t measure up to someone else’s level, I have discovered that I consistently perform better when I’m challenged.
More and more I’ve come to wonder if boxing imitates life.
And I’m laughing, because boxing is so much gentler. There are rules, and safety precautions, and coaches. You get to leave the gym any time you want. You might be bloodied and bruised, but there are no broken hearts, or terminally ill friends, or moral dilemmas in boxing. There are no looming deadlines or financial disasters.
But every day you step forward and fight, despite the dread. Not to win a prize, or build a record, or turn back the clock, but because it’s what you do. It’s how you live.
The Ignite idea is that if enough people vote up your idea and put you on the stage, you get 5 minutes and 20 slides (which auto advance every 15 seconds) to say your piece and change the world.
So, it’s much delayed, but here it is. The SlideShare slides are below (btw, I’m no longer @glowbird on Twitter, I’m @LCBledsoe now):
Thanks again to the fabulous producers of both the Ignite Raleigh and the Ignite Durham show, Ryan Boyles, Zach Ward and Jeffrey L. Cohen and all of you who voted me onto the stage!
This is not a new fight, but in the interest of your boxing education you absolutely must watch this Katie Taylor v Caroline Barry amateur boxing match. Damn, it’s exciting to see this kind of energy bouncing around the ring. Oh, and these may be the first ring GUYS you’ve ever seen.
Hat tip to my Irish friend Niamh for posting this video on her blog, which is where I found it and fell in love with this dynamic boxing whirlwind. Katie Taylor is a two time world champion and one of Ireland’s main hopes for a medal in the 2012 Olympics.
One of the things I love about this Wall Street Journal video is not just that the WSJ is spotlighting a few of the thousands of young women whose dreams of boxing in the Olympics are now a real possiblity, but also that they show a more balanced view of what it’s like to train as a boxer.
Boxing isn’t all about trading blows, although that’s certainly what most people think about when they see it. Boxing is about careful and determined study and practice of tactics, constant work on cardio, and plenty of mental fortitude. It’s almost more of a head and heart game than a brawn game.
I’m thrilled to see more and more articles like this showing up in my alerts these days. Not only that, but another woman interested in boxing has started showing up when my LA Boxing team trains. Allowing women’s boxing in the 2012 Olympics (I accidentally typed 2010 just now — wishful thinking!) will have an empowering trickle-down effect for women everywhere.
Let’s do it, sisters!
PS: That accent is pretty cool, huh? I had to rewind a couple of times in order to figure out what some of the young women were saying!
I only began blogging women’s boxing news midway through this year, but what a year it has been. In addition to seeing my first women’s fights on-site, online, and via pay-per-view, I’ve learned a tremendous amount about the undisciplined proliferation of boxing’s governing bodies, the heart of some of the world’s most dedicated female boxers, and the frustrating battle women fighters have to get fights and be seen.
Here’s my take on the top four historic moments in women’s boxing in 2009.
1. Women’s Boxing Admitted to 2012 Olympic Games
While big names like Pacqiao and Mayweather kept men’s boxing in the online conversation during 2009, women’s boxing finally got a search spike with the August 13th announcement from International Olympic Committee chair Jacques Rogge telling the world that the 2012 London Olympics will be the first to feature women competing in every single sport including the last holdout, boxing. Hopefully that landmark decision will hold tight, given massive shortfalls in budget funding for the program.
2. Women head a major MMA fight card for the first time in history
This is not boxing, but in my opinion it accomplished a great deal for women’s fight sports by bringing Gina “Conviction” Carano and Cris “Cyborg” Santos together as the first women in MMA history to headline a major MMA fight card. The fight was short but it delivered power, excitement, and a new reigning queen to women’s world-class MMA. It doesn’t matter that Dana White behaves like such an ass with regard to women’s fight sports, forward-thinking businesses like Strikeforce and CBS (who televised the fight) are on board.
3. Lucia Rijker becomes first woman inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame
Undefeated boxer Lucia Rijker (17-0, 14 KOs) achieved this singular honor partly be being a phenomenal boxer, and partly because she is one of the first to retire from the sport since women’s boxing began to win sanctioning. Let’s hope the other main boxing HOF, the International Boxing Hall of Fame, follows suit.
4. Christy Martin pushes record of wins to 49 Christy Martin (49-5-3) has been a mainstay of women’s boxing for more years and more fights than most other female boxers in the sport. In a world where it is so much harder for women to secure fights, Martin has continued to find, fight, and win them in unforgettable crowd-pleasing style. For win number 49, which was quietly conducted with almost no press coverage, Martin took the title despite a tenth-round broken hand. Although there was initial speculation that she would hang up the gloves, rumors in the women’s boxing world once more include the possibility of the push for a 50th win.
I encourage everyone who is interested in daily news about women’s boxing — both amateur and professional — to check in regularly with WBAN, the only major source of online news in this area that I’ve come across. I wish less of their content were hidden behind a paywall, but there are still plenty of stories freely accessible. Beyond that, it’s a hard task to find news, stories, or information online (or anywhere) that consistently tells the story of the women who box. Here’s to positive change in the years ahead.
Next up: a post on the top pro boxing women to watch in 2010…
Big Wonderful Note: Here’s a shout out to Tim Starks over at The Queensberry Rules, which is one of the best men’s pro boxing blogs out there. We spoke on Twitter about wrapping up the year in boxing, and he offered to run my women’s post in addition to some of the great posts he and his readership whipped up covering the men’s side of things. If you love boxing, you should get over toTQBR stat.
“The topic fascinated us for many reasons,” said Joshi, co-director of the film. “India has some of the best women boxers in the world. They have risen to the top from very humble circumstances.”
Cinematographer and co-director Sarkissian expressed similar thoughts. “I’ve always been really interested in stories that would otherwise be overlooked or forgotten,” she commented.
Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, the third fighter for Team USA, is not in my top faves, but she might just surprise the watching world by snagging a medal.
