Top 15 Best Female Boxers Of All Time

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Top 15 Best Female Boxers Of All Time

Boxing is mostly dominated by male athletes throughout its entire history. The sport has however embraced female boxers in recent years who have shown that they can also be title contenders in the ring as well as entertain their fans. These female athletes overcame obstacles to establish themselves as some of the most fearless fighters to ever enter the ring going on to garner a sizable fan base. 

In addition to setting amazing records and winning prestigious awards, these women have inspired younger generations of women to take on the role that men have traditionally held in authority. They were able to demonstrate some noteworthy fights and accomplishments with their skills, techniques, and in-ring dexterity, leaving a lasting impression on the sport. These female athletes have unparalleled talent and will likely spend the foreseeable future at the top of their game. Let us take a look at the 15 best female boxers of all time.

1. Amanda Serrano

Amanda Serrano Photoshoot photo by Prcarolina – Wikimedia commons

Amanda Serrano is a professional boxer, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who hails from Puerto Rico. She has held the WBO, WBC, and IBO featherweight titles since 2019, making her the undisputed champion in the featherweight division. With nine major world titles held across seven different weight classes, she owns the Guinness World Record for the most boxing world championships won by females in different weight divisions. She is the first female and Puerto Rican to have won titles in more than four weight classes.

2. Claressa Shields

Claressa Shields photo by Greg2600 – Wikimedia commons

American professional boxer and MMA fighter Claressa Shields competes internationally. She has held numerous world titles in three weight classes, including the undisputed women’s light middleweight title since March 2021, the undisputed women’s middleweight title from 2019 to 2020, and the unified women’s super middleweight belts from the WBC and IBF from 2017 to 2018. Shields currently holds the record for becoming a two and three-weight world champion in the fewest professional fights. 

Shields is the only boxer in history—male or female—to simultaneously hold all four of boxing’s main world championships—the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO—in two weight divisions.

3. Lucia Rijker 

Lucia Rijker (L), in the ring together with Jane Couch (R) on June 21, 2003, photo by Nimueva – Wikimedia commons

Lucia Rijker is a professional boxer, kickboxer, and actress from the Netherlands. Rijker was occasionally referred to as “The Most Dangerous Woman in the World” by the media as seen by how she maintained an unbeaten record in the ring as of February 2007; her boxing record is 17-0 (14 knockouts). She has defeated notable opponents including Marcela Acuña (5th-round knockout) and Deborah “Sunshine” Fettkether winning the WIBF Welterweight Title after a 10th-round decision.

4. Laila Ali 

Laila Ali at Celebrity Fight Night XXIII in Phoenix, Arizona. photo by Gage Skidmore – Wikimedia commons

Laila Ali is a former professional boxer from the United States who competed from 1999 until 2007. She is the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali’s daughter. She held the WBC, WIBA, IWBF, and IBA female super middleweight titles throughout her career, from which she retired unbeaten, as well as the IWBF light heavyweight title. Ali is considered regarded as one of the best female boxers of all time by many in the sport.

Also Read: Top 10 Captivating Facts about Muhammad Ali

5. Katie Taylor

Katie Taylor photo by cormac70 – Wikimedia commons

Katie Taylor is a professional boxer from Ireland. She is the current undisputed lightweight champion having held the WBA title in 2017, the IBF crown in 2018 and the WBO, Ring Magazine and WBC titles from 2019. He also held the WBO junior-welterweight title in 2019. She became one of only eight boxers in history male or female to hold all four major world titles in boxing comprising WBC, IBF, WBO and WBA simultaneously after defeating Delfine Persoon in 2019.

6. Mia St. John

American professional boxer Mia St. John. photo sourced from Wikimedia commons

Mia St. John is a professional boxer and former World Boxing Council champion in the super welterweight division. She is also the lightweight champion of the IBA and IFBA. She doubled up as a taekwondo champion as well as a model and businesswoman. She fought 65 times in all, winning 49 of them (including 19 knockouts), losing 14 times, and drawing twice.

7. Cecelia Braekhus

Cecilia Braekhus is a professional boxer and former kickboxer of Norwegian descent. She was the undisputed female welterweight champion in boxing from 2014 to 2020 and the first woman in any weight division to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO championships.

She is also just one of 11 boxers in history—female or male—to simultaneously hold all four major world titles. She received three recognitions from Guinness World Records in 2018: the Most Undefeated Bouts by a Female World Champion Boxer, the Longest Reign as a Four-Belt Undisputed Boxing Champion, and the Longest Reign as a Female Boxing Champion.

8. Christy Martin

Christy Martin is a former professional boxer from the United States. She competed from 1989 to 2012, and in 2009, she held the WBC women’s super welterweight belt. In 2016, Martin became the first female fighter to be inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame. In 2020, the first election to include women, Martin was also inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

9. Mary Kom

Mary Kom photo by British High Commission, India – Wikimedia commons

Mary Kom is the only female boxer to have won a medal in each of the first seven World Championships, the only boxer of either gender to have won eight World Championship medals, and the only female to have won the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times. She was the first female boxer from India to make it to the Olympics in 2012 when she competed in the flyweight (51 kg) division and took home a bronze medal. She won a gold medal at the Asian Games in 2014 in Incheon, South Korea, making history as the first Indian female boxer to do so. She also won a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. 

10. Holly Holm

Holly Holm at UFC 246 photo by MMAnytt – Wikimedia commons

Holly Holm currently competes in MMA under UFC. She was a former professional boxer and the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion. She was a two-time Ring magazine fighter of the year, in 2005 and 2006 and a multiple-time world champion in boxing who successfully defended her belts 18 times across three weight divisions. She is the only fighter to have captured both a UFC championship and a boxing world title.

Related: 10 Best Women MMA fighters

11. Ann Wolfe 

Ann Wolfe is a retired professional boxer from the United States. One of the best female boxers of all time, Wolfe simultaneously held world titles in three separate weight divisions. The International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame inducted her in 2015. After 26 fights, winning 24, losing 1, and one that was a no-contest, she decided to retire.

12. Susi Kentikian

Susianna Kentikian photo by Andreas Metz Fotografie – Wikimedia commons

Susianna Kentikian is a former professional boxer of Armenian and German descent who competed from 2005 until 2016. Kentikian is a two-time WBA female flyweight world champion, having held the championship from 2007 to 2012 and again from 2013 to 2017. She was also the WBO flyweight champion from 2009 to 2012, as well as the WIBF champion from 2007 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2017. She was named the first WBA female Super Champion at the 2009 WBA congress in Colombia. It was announced that for all future Super Champions, this belt would be known as the “Susi Kentikian belt.”

13. Regina Halmich

Regina Halmich at Diva 2008 photo by Klaus Mueller – Wikimedia commons

Regina Halmich is a successful German professional fighter who helped popularize female boxing in Europe. She retired after 56 fights, with 54 victories (16 KOs), 1 loss, and 1 draw. The Ring magazine considered her the 2nd best female boxer of all time in January 2016.

14. Natascha Ragosina 

Ragozina Natalia, Russian boxer photo by Mediacrat – Wikimedia commons

Natalia Ragozina is a retired Russian professional boxer who was listed as the world’s best female super middleweight for much of her career. She was undefeated in her boxing career, having competed in 22 fights and winning all of them with 13 KOs. He won more than nine championships throughout her illustrious career including the 2009 WBF heavyweight world champion and the 2009 W.I.B.F. heavyweight world champion.

15. Giselle Salandy

Giselle Salandy was a Trinidadian professional boxer who was an unbeaten unified light middleweight world champion from 2006 until 2009, holding the WBA and WBC, as well as the IWBF, WIBA, WIBF, and GBU female belts.

Also Read: Top 10 Most Famous Undefeated Boxers