In a move designed to coincide with International Women’s Day this weekend, the Royal Albert Hall is staging a night of all-female boxing headlined by the unification bout between Britons Natasha Jonas and Lauren Price on Friday.
For one night only, the grand London venue best known for staging the Proms will be filled with the sound of a potential 5,000 fight fans and some of the country’s top female boxers trying to knock seven bells out of each other.
Veteran Jonas, 40, is due to defend her WBC and IBF welterweight world titles against Price, who is putting up her WBA and IBO belts and looking to maintain an unbeaten start to her eight-fight professional career.
Also on the bill are Londoner Caroline Dubois – younger sister of men’s heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois – who is set to defend her WBC world lightweight title against South Korea’s Bo Mi Re Shin, and Olympic medallist Karriss Artingstall’s all-English featherweight clash with Raven Chapman.
An exciting card looked even more appealing until Paris 2024 history-maker Cindy Ngamba, the first person to win an Olympic medal when competing as a refugee, pulled out of her scheduled fight with Kirstie Bavington, citing injury.
But it remains a landmark occasion for women’s boxing, which has enjoyed significant growth in the last few years, driven by the likes of Ireland’s Katie Taylor. With that in mind, here are the biggest fights in the history of women’s boxing.
The biggest fights in women’s boxing
1. Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano, April 2022
The first women’s fight to headline Madison Square Garden attracted a crowd of more than 19,000 to the iconic New York venue. It was groundbreaking in financial terms too, with both fighters picking up seven-figure purses.
Taylor-Serrano pulled in a further 1.5m viewers on Dazn, whose app was the most downloaded in Ireland and the highest-grossing sports app of the weekend.
The fight itself more than lived up the billing, with Taylor retaining her undisputed lightweight crown via split decision after 10 classic rounds. It was hailed as the best event of the year by both Sports Illustrated and The Ring Magazine and set a new standard for women’s boxing.
2. Claressa Shields v Savannah Marshall, October 2022
Just a few months later London got in on the action when promoter Boxxer assembled the biggest all-female card in UK history at the O2. Around 20,000 attended and more than 1m watched on Sky Sports, while ESPN also carried the show in the US.
American Shields, the self-styled GWOAT (Greatest Woman Of All Time), lived up to her billing to become undisputed middleweight champion and avenge her loss to Brit Marshall in the amateur ranks. Both fighters banked seven-figure payments.
A stellar card also featured Mikaela Mayer, Alicia Baumgardner and Caroline Dubois and proved that Taylor-Serrano was no commercial flash in the pan.
3. Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano, November 2024
The long-awaited rematch between Taylor and Serrano, on the undercard of the Netflix show between YouTuber-turned-pugilist Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, obliterated viewer records.
With a global live audience of 74m, the streaming giant said it was not just the most-watched event in women’s boxing but in women’s sport more widely.
Once again Taylor prevailed to retain her undisputed status, this time at light welterweight and, while in audience terms you can make a case for it being No1 the occasion itself did less for women’s boxing than some other events.
4. Laila Ali v Jacqui Frazier Lyde, June 2001
Long after their fathers enjoyed a legendary rivalry in the ring, Laila Ali and Jacqui Frazier Lyde revived the beef in a high-profile clash in New York. Ali won a classic battle between the two unbeaten fighters on points and neither woman ever lost again.
Long before women’s boxing picked up fresh momentum – and before the WBA, WBC or even the IOC began sanctioning female fights – Ali-Frazier put it on the map and forced a rethink of what might be possible in the sport.
5. Katie Taylor v Chantelle Cameron, May 2023
Taylor’s 23rd professional fight was her first in her native Ireland and also proved to be her first defeat. Originally set to be a rematch with Serrano, Cameron was drafted in after the Puerto Rican got injured and duly delivered a major upset.
Taylor won the rematch six months later to become a two-weight undisputed champion. Both fights were held in front of 9,000 fans at Dublin’s 3Arena.