Women’s Boxing: 2022, A Year Of Progress

Women’s Boxing: 2022, A Year Of Progress

It’s fair to say women’s boxing had enjoyed its finest year to date. So much progress, and so many memories. A truly historic twelve months in many ways.

Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano served up an all-time classic in April, headlining a sold-out Madison Square Garden. The fight had everything, and nobody really knew who would win until Taylor had her raised after 10 truly incredible rounds. The importance of the night shouldn’t be lost with the passing of time. Equally, another night in October is a pivotal moment in women’s boxing history. An all-female card at the sold-out O2 Arena in London was a special and memorable occasion. Claressa Shields became the undisputed middleweight champion of the world and stole the show and got her redemption over Savannah Marshall, and the fight that proceeded it, produced a different type of drama as Alycia Baumgardner edged her most heated rival, Mikaela Mayer, by a hotly-disputed split decision to unify further the super-featherweight division. Both rivalries you sense are very much unfinished business.

Natasha Jonas started the year without a world title to her name, she ended it with three. If ever a fighter is a story of perseverance it is hers. Written off so many times in her life, two previous world title shots had ended without a belt around her waist, and her time and hopes seemed to have gone. But a move to Boxxer revitalised everything.

On an emotional night in February, Jonas blasted away Chris Namus in two sensational rounds to win the vacant WBO super-welterweight title. The Manchester ring was full of emotion and relief. The gamble to sign with Boxxer and move up multiple weight divisions paid off handsomely. Patricia Berghult and Marie-Eve Dicaire found the Liverpool fighter too much for her, and Jonas has now added the WBC, IBF and the Ring Magazine belts to her collection. Jonas now has options and plenty of them. Make no mistake, the narrative that she only has Terri Harper to make the big money is way off the mark. 2023 promises to be a very big year for ‘Miss GB’ and maybe her final one.

Ebanie Bridges was supposed to be sent back to reality by Shannon Courtenay in 2021. As 2022 nears its final chimes, the reality is Bridges is now a world champion. 2023 is a year for unification, maybe, even undisputed. An unlikely story, is now anything but.

The Australian packed her bags and moved permanently to the UK after her world title win over Maria Cecilia Roman in March. A return visit to Leeds saw Bridges settle a simmering feud with her fellow Australian Shannon O’Connell. Bridges fought with real spite and venom, an early scare ignited something even more. O’Connell broke mentally and physically. And quickly. After 8 rounds, Bridges smashed home the punches she needed. It was impressive, even those that still doubted her would have found it hard to be negative. A sweet victory in many ways. Bridges never gets the credit she deserves, but everything she says with her mouth, she more than backs up with her fists. Her story isn’t over yet.

Chantelle Cameron often a victim of the sport, got her much-deserved moment when she became the undisputed super-welterweight champion when she beat Jessica McCaskill in November in a bruising fight in Abu Dhabi. The hope is Cameron is now allowed to build on that win. A very good fighter who deserves better.

Terri Harper and Nina Hughes end the year as world champions. Harper followed her old rival Natasha Jonas up to super-welterweight to beat Hannah Rankin and claimed the WBA title and is now targeting a rematch with Jonas. At the time of writing, that fight looks highly unlikely, but Jonas or not, Harper should land another big fight in 2023. The move-up in weights has given her opportunities and time.

Hughes sits proudly as the WBA bantamweight champion of the world courtesy of her recent upset win over the American Jamie Mitchell, and can now look forward to possible unification fights but a defence against Shannon Courtenay will probably be next. Hughes has been a professional for only a year, it is a quite remarkable story.

2023 might be where Lisa Whiteside has a similar story to Hughes. Many in the sport rate Whiteside very highly indeed, and the next 12 months could see her breakthrough in a major way. Unbeaten in five fights and now back from injury, Whiteside has boxed in some obscurity so far, but she is far too good for it to remain that way.

Katie Healy travelled to South Africa and beat Matshidiso Mokebisi to win the WBF super-bantamweight title. The title might be insignificant to some and is in truth a far lesser-regarded title, but it should lead to bigger fights in the next 12 months. Healy is chasing a fight with Ebanie Bridges, but if as seems likely Bridges is out of reach, the year ahead still promises a good return for the likeable and underrated Healy.

The exceptionally talented Ellie Scotney will get her maiden world title fight in 2023 against Cherneka Johnson for the IBF super-bantamweight title. Scotney has found her groove this year, a win over Mary Romero and the manner of it in winning the European title in October was a real statement-making performance. Scotney was seriously impressive that night, winning a world title now looks like a formality.

The British super-flyweight ranks are low on numbers but not in quality. The likes of Lauren Parker, Shannon Ryan, Emma Dolan and Nicola Hopewell have all made steady progress this year, and don’t be surprised if one of them is near a world title fight in 12 months’ time. There are a lot of good fights to be made between the four and don’t be surprised if the likes of the impressive Chloe Watson, Megan Redstall and others join their party. We still don’t have a British title in the female side of the sport, the super-flyweight division would be a good place to start.

Watson seems to get better every time we see her, Redstall is unbeaten in two fights, but needs a regular schedule next year after only one fight in 2022.

In regards to Hopewell, the year started off in much frustration as her application for a British Boxing Board of Control licence dragged on, but with two wins to her name already and a fight already locked in for February she looks intent on making up for lost time.

Two more FightPost regulars Rhiannon Dixon and Linn Sandstrom both had a year that promises plenty for 2023. Dixon the unbeaten lightweight prospect got three fights and three wins under her belt, each fight showing significant improvement from the previous one. There is no rush with Dixon, but she will nevertheless look to push herself into some kind of title contention over the coming year.

Sandstrom the former international table tennis player had a difficult start in her new sport, but the super-flyweight hopeful had an unbeaten run in 2022 winning all her six fights and is now just a few fights away from a possible world title opportunity. Few fighters live and breathe boxing more than Sandstrom.

Raven Chapman and Skye Nicolson have both impressed this year, and both look capable of very big things next year, the two featherweights may even fight each other, although that will probably be later rather than sooner.

Nicolson especially has shined in her maiden year as a professional. The former Olympian has had five fights and has hardly taken a punch in anger. Nicolson won the Commonwealth title in her last fight, and that is unlikely to be the last belt that she will win. There is that rare confidence that oozes when you speak to the Australian, she wants world titles and doesn’t care who she will face. Nicolson hasn’t been tested yet and looks like a fighter who has several more gears to show us. Nicolson is probably the best prospect in the sport, but the coming months could very easily see prospect develop into more. Much more.

Caroline Dubois, Lauren Price and Karriss Artingstall all started their professional journeys this year with Boxxer. All three are sound investments for the future. Dubois has the look of something very special indeed, but all three will have world titles in their future, and sooner rather than later. They all look far too good to be held back for long.

Sandy Ryan suffered her first defeat at the hands of Erica Farias in March, but to her credit, she went straight back in with Farias and got the win back and followed it up with an excellent performance against Anahi Sanchez. Ryan will get her chance at a world title very early next year. The loss to Farias has made her a better fighter, and her future will be better because of it. Ryan got her tactics badly wrong in the first fight with Farias and cited issues with her preparation also, but now with lessons learned, when that world title opportunity does come, Ryan is now far more likely to take advantage of it.

April Hunter suffered her first defeat in 2021 to Kirstie Bavington but has rebounded with two wins this year. Hunter will look to continue in that manner going forward, but 2023 will be a crucial one for Hunter. Bavington is now a European champion, and after a few early reversals in her career is now settling quite nicely into her career, but is still a fighter unfairly going under the radar.

Amy Timlin finally got her career back up and running again after suffering a devastating defeat to Mary Romero in a European title challenge in 2021. A comeback win in August got Timlin back to winning ways and it will be interesting to see where her career goes from there. Timlin is talented but needs a big 12 months to see that talent realised. Inactivity has seen Timlin forgotten somewhat, but regular activity should comfortably reverse that.

Luck is everything in life, especially in boxing. If two fighters deserve a change in fortune Louise Orton and Hannah Baggaley would fit that narrative. Both have seen multiple fights fall through, two of the unluckiest fighters I have ever come across. I’ve lost count of how many fights have fallen through for Baggaley, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she has also. Orton has had a traumatic year and bravely opened up to FightPost on those issues, it is difficult not to feel for her. Hopefully, both get the rewards they deserve next year. In simple terms, all they want to do is fight. The sport hasn’t been kind to either.

Carly Skelly lost a world title fight to Jamie Mitchell and will look to get her career back on track in 2023. Tysie Gallagher lost a close fight to Nina Hughes and wants a rematch, this time with the world title on the line. Gallagher could be one to keep an eye on in the coming months, as is Georgia O’Connor the former Team GB star who has shown potential in her early professional fights. Harli Whitwell made a statement on her debut and could be another fighter that could go far.

The American Ginny Fuchs impressed on the Boxxer all-female card in October, and hopefully, Fuchs gets signed up by a promoter who can give her the push her talents deserve.

It is impossible to list every female fighter, every fight that has happened in 2022, and that in itself is progress. I have had to leave so many fighters out and just concentrate on fighters that have featured on FightPost. The talent in the female ranks, and the ones that will turn professional in the coming years, like Shona Whitwell, Hannah Robinson and others, will ensure that 2022 will not be the peak for women’s boxing. It will only be the beginning.

Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing