The Top Ten British Female Fighters Of 2024

The Top Ten British Female Fighters Of 2024

It’s been a somewhat disappointing year for the female ranks. Their side of the sport has stagnated in many ways during 2024. Fights have been hard to come by, especially for fighters who reside on this list. Two fights a year is seemingly now the normal workload. What was once an extended period of much progress has now become another battle for relevance. The Saudi-backed shows of Riyadh Season have shown little or no interest in featuring women’s boxing. One token fight hardly speaks of any real enthusiasm. It’s difficult to envisage anything changing on that front in the very near future. Hopefully, the big promoters show a little more interest going forward than they have of late. When you are in a side of the sport that has been neglected for so long, having your top talent only fighting once or twice a year at most, is no way to build anything, let alone a sport that has often struggled for acceptance. You have to be seen and heard to make the paying punters care. It really isn’t that difficult.

But amongst the apathy and more, the talent is still there. An ever-expanding roster of fighters who can shine a light on their sport. All they need is for the money men to show the right amount of interest.

The FightPost top ten of British female fighters has still seen much movement in 2024. Due to a long period of inactivity, Savannah Marshall has been steadily dropping down the list in the last twelve months or so, and as a result, Marshall has now been removed altogether. Hopefully, the next calendar does indeed see her return to a boxing ring. Women’s boxing is a whole lot healthier with an active Savannah Marshall in it.

But this ever-changing list is still enriched by quality throughout. As ever, the list is subjective and is formed by a combination of ability, potential, and achievements.

The Top Ten British Female Fighters Of 2024:

1: Chantelle Cameron

After losing her unbeaten record and undisputed world super-lightweight titles to Katie Taylor late last year in Dublin, 2024, it has been a year of change and a period of rebuilding many things since that heartbreaking night in Ireland for Chantelle Cameron. A new trainer. A new promoter. Two fights that kept her busy and removed the scars of that painful defeat to Taylor. But 2025 promises a return to the big nights. Cameron wants Taylor again. Unfinished business in many ways. But she has options with or without Taylor. Cameron still has the best resume and the best win of any other fighter on this list, and she is still very much in her prime.

2: Natasha Jonas

Natasha Jonas enjoyed a big start to 2024. A fight of the year contender in her hometown should have brought more of the same. But that hard-earned win over Mikaela Mayer only brought frustration and more. Jonas was hoping this year would be her last in the sport. But the usual behind the scenes politics have left her sitting on the sidelines for much of this year. Jonas ended the year on a high beating Ivana Habazin to claim the WBC welterweight bauble. Lauren Price will be next in March. A victory will likely see Jonas seeking one last dance on a stage and an opponent that satisfies her.

3: Ellie Scotney

Like many on this list, Scotney has enjoyed a frustrating period of late. But the immensely talented unified world super-bantamweight champion returns in January against Mea Motu. Scotney will hope a more fruitful 2025 follows. Unbeaten in nine fights, Scotney is some fighter. All she needs is a comparable dance partner. A move up to featherweight to fight Skye Nicolson could be exactly what she needs. Either way, Scotney deserves a bigger push from the powers that be.

4: Lauren Price

The WBA welterweight champion has had her best year to date in 2024. The former Olympic Champion claimed her first world title in May courtesy of that dominant one-sided win over the veteran American Jessica McCaskill. This past weekend, Price looked impressive in stopping the admittedly over-matched Bexcy Mateus in Liverpool. Price will next face Natasha Jonas in 2025 with three world welterweight titles on the line. A victory for either, should set up a fight with Mikaela Mayer for undisputed status at welterweight.

5: Caroline Dubois

Caroline Dubois could very easily be the best fighter on this list. Her recent elevation to the WBC world lightweight champion should set Dubois up for quite nicely for the big fights that she craves. Dubois will surely be involved in unification fights by close of play next year. By this time next year, we will know just how good Caroline Dubois really is. Her ceiling could be unlimited.

6: Sandy Ryan

It’s been a mixed year for Sandy Ryan. A highly dominant win over Terri Harper in March was followed by a defeat to Mikaela Mayer in September that cost Ryan her WBO world welterweight title. A strange decision to let her fight on away soil without a rematch clause could prove costly in the short term. Without the leverage of a world title, Ryan could now be in the who needs her club. Being high risk with no reward is never good for a fighters ambitions. Unless her promoter can put up enough money to tempt Mayer into an immediate rematch on UK soil, or the Mayer team sees value in the immediate rematch, only gaining mandatory status will force her back into position. With Natasha Jonas and Lauren Price further unifying the welterweight division early next year, Ryan could be at least a year away from another crack at welterweight gold. Patience could be the theme for Ryan in 2025 or sensible and realistic negotiation skills if the Mayer team comes calling once again.

7: Terri Harper

That terribly one-sided mauling at the hands of Sandy Ryan in Sheffield left Terri Harper on the brink. Her future at the top end of the sport looked incredibly perlious. A fighter at extreme risk of losing her place at the top table. Her fight with Rhiannon Dixon in September looked to be the last throw of the dice for the former world super-featherweight and super-welterweight champion. But the return to lightweight has given Harper new life. She knew a little too much for Dixon and took her WBO world lightweight title on a night that almost certainly saved her career. Harper survived a real crisis in her career, and the now three-weight world champion can now look forward to more big nights in 2025.

8: Rhiannon Dixon

Rhiannon Dixon rolled the dice in September in her fight with Terri Harper. It was a calculated gamble to take on a fighter who was vastly more experienced, but equally, one that was perceived as being on the slide. It didn’t quite work out for Dixon. It was an immense jump up in class, but despite losing her WBO world lightweight title on points, she wasn’t disgraced. It looked to be perfect timing for the previously unbeaten Warrington fighter, but Harper just knew a little too much for her. Going forward, it could be a blessing in disguise for Dixon. After a gentle rebuild and lessons learned, Rhiannon Dixon should come again.

9: Nina Hughes

Nina Hughes lost her WBA world bantamweight title in May in controversial circumstances to Cherneka Johnson in Australia. I thought Hughes should have left Perth a clear winner, but after it was initially declared that way, the result was changed to a Johnson win soon after in a farcical undignified manner. In many ways, Nina Hughes deserved better. Hughes is still chasing the rematch with Johnson, and hopefully, that will happen earlier in the new year.

10: Chloe Watson

With Savannah Marshall dropping out of the top ten due to her extended absence from boxing, it leaves a space to fill. In truth, you could legitimately pick any number of fighters. But for me, Chloe Watson just edges it. Probably on potential alone. But the likes of Raven Chapman and Emma Dolan could argue their inclusion also. Watson, the European flyweight champion could be on the verge of a crack at the world title if she finds regular wotk inside a boxing ring. Watson is another fighter following that worrying trend of having just one fight this year. But with an abundance of domestic talent lying in wait, Watson could have a very big 2025 ahead of her.

Going Forward:

The next twelve months will be a pivotal year for women’s boxing. So many fighters will be looking to move their careers onto the next level. For some of those fighters, it will be a case of now or never. But the female ranks as a whole can’t afford another period of stagnation. Apathy is supposed to be a thing of the past. Or so we hope.

GBM Sports have already announced a triple-title showdown between Tysie Gallagher and Ebonie Jones with the British, Commonwealth, and WBO European super-bantamweight titles up for grabs. The likes of Lauren Parker, Nicola Hopewell, Shannon Ryan, Maisey Rose Courtney, and several others will hope they can land fights of that kind of magnitude in 2025. The former Olympian Karriss Artingstall is far too good a fighter to be forgotten. With regular activity, she should almost certainly be in the upper echelons of this list. A forgotten fighter who will hope 2025 gives her what she needs.

There are blue-chip prospects like Harli and Shona Whitwell, Hannah Robinson, who could force their way into title reckoning for consideration by this time next year. The talent is there. They just need the opportunity to shine. A little fact that sadly isn’t just reserved for up-and-coming prospects. Hopefully, the Boxxer show in March is a sign of things to come.