Cecilia Braekhus, Norway
Boxer
Cecilia Braekhus is a vanguard for women’s boxing. Need evidence? Well, she’s been a pay-per-view star in Europe for nearly a decade, was the first woman to headline a HBO card, the first female pugilist to attain undisputed status (in fact she is only one of five boxers in history, man or woman to hold all four alphabet belts simultaneously) and remains the No1 pound-for-pound women’s fighter in a time when the sport has gained so much ground and respect. Indeed, 2018 was a massive year for the sport and its renaissance and resurgence owes much to Braekhus and her slick skills in the ring. Boxing’s machismo trait has long seen the sport dominated by men. While there’s been some sporadic mainstream success for women, Christy Martin in the 1990s and Laila Ali in the early part of this century, the structure and organisation for women’s boxing has always lagged behind. But thanks to the success of fighters like Braekhus, that perception has shifted drastically. The 37-year-old has used her status as the best in the world to help improve the conditions of all female boxers having already pioneered the sport in her native Norway where for a long time professional boxing was banned. Of course, her marketability stands shoulder to shoulder with her abilities in the ring but Braekhus is a tremendous athlete and advocate for the sport. The talent is deeper than ever before, the big networks are taking notice and the fans are watching with interest. There’s a lot more work to be done in terms of pay, but boxing needs stars and the imposing Braekhus is certainly one of them, helping to generate a huge amount of interest which will pay dividends.
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– Braekhus fought the final bout of HBO’s storied history in boxing, defeating Aleksandra Magdziak-Lopes in December to retain her undisputed welterweight status.
– This year could see a bonafide crossover ‘superfight’ with one of MMA’s greatest female fighters Cris Cyborg potentially taking on Braekhus in the squared-circle.
– History was made last September when Braekhus was awarded with the inaugural The Ring Magazine’s Women’s No1 pound-for-pound belt, four years after she became the first unified women’s champion.
– In May, she made history as the first female boxer to ever appear on a HBO broadcast, defeating Kali Reis on Gennady Golovkin-Vanes Martirosyan card. The numbers were superb with the bout peaking at over a million viewers.
– The prestigious Boxing Writers of America once again assigned her status atop the women’s P4P rankings in December.
Did you know…
Braekhus was actually born in Colombia but when her mother passed away at an early age and with her aunt too old to care for her, she went to an orphanage. She was adopted at two and a half years old by Marthin and Jorun Braekhus and moved to Bergen.
“We are on a great path right now and I hope it continues to climb for a long time in the future. If promoters and networks invest and promote women the same way they do for the guys, they will get it all back 10 times, because we have been starved for so long to showcase our talents.” – Cecilia Braekhus (Source: RingTV.com)
Twitter: @1LadyCecilia
Instagram: ceciliabraekhus
