Marissa Williamson Pohlman: Beyond The Ropes
“It’s been a hard three years, to say the least. It’s been emotionally exhausting.” If you know the story of Marissa Williamson Pohlman, you will understand why. This is that story.
Boxing was once her dream. “The sad thing for me, growing up and being in and out of care, was that boxing was the thing that saved my life,” Williamson Pohlman told FightPost.
Life has seemingly always been hard. An insanely difficult period in her formative years. But Williamson Pohlman thought she had found something that would save her.
“I was a foster kid from the age of 13. I was running around a track just to stay out of trouble. I didn’t want to do cross-country out of season because I hated long-distance running. So I started playing footy. I fell in love with AFL; it’s the number one sport here in Australia. I thought that was going to be my future. But I was the naughty foster kid. I went to five different High Schools, and I was trying to get back into one of my old ones where all my friends were. There was a new principal there, and he pretty much made me sign a behavioural contract before he would let me back into the school. He didn’t want a violent person in the school. It was perfect attendance, perfect grades, and I had to be in sports. So he got me into footie to channel my anger. I was playing for Richmond, which is a big football club. There was this girl, Shantelle Thompson, who was a Jiu-Jitsu champion, and nobody wanted to tackle her in drills. I was left with her, and I ended up dropping her on her arse. She looked at me and said I needed to get into combat sports. So I went to a boxing gym. And that’s where it all started. When I punched someone in the face for the first time, and I was allowed to do it, I thought everything made sense now.”
“My life wasn’t very good at the time,” Williamson Pohlman added. “I had sixteen foster placements in five years. It was something that I had control over. I was the one in the driving seat. Home life was shit, but at least I knew that after school, I was going to the boxing gym. I had ownership over it, and it was something that I wanted to do. It created a lot of opportunities for me. I have travelled all over Australia and the world; I never thought I would be able to do that. My parents never travelled. So to be able to do it, and to do it big, felt pretty good.”
Marissa Williamson Pohlman had around 60 fights in her amateur career. Pohlman made history in 2024 when she became the first Aboriginal woman to compete in boxing at an Olympic Games. But beyond the ropes, Williamson Pohlman was suffering.
“It’s soul-crushing and heartbreaking,” the 24-year-old Australian says. “It just didn’t work out the way I thought. How can anyone think about performing when they are holding on to this really big secret? With everything that has been going on over these last three years. This is just my story. I know other people who have suffered as well. These boxing federations have such a monopoly over the athletes. A lot of boxers come from the school of hard knocks. You don’t find too many private school kids jumping into a boxing ring. We want to change our lives, do all these amazing things and achieve something. We make allowances, try to stay in our lane. There are times when the sport tests your values. Staying true to what you truly believe in.”
Nobody knows what really goes on behind the scenes. Williamson Pohlman certainly does. “I went to a boxing gym when I was about 16. It was three hours away. A coach hugged me after sparring because I had sparred one of his boys, and he grabbed me on the arse. He’s now in jail on 39 criminal charges for rape of a child. It happens because we are so vulnerable. We put so much trust into our coaches. I have trusted my coaches more than I have trusted myself. It’s so disappointing to see them abuse their power in that way.”
“You can’t speak up because you are scared,” Williamson Pohlman added, who by now was fighting back her emotions as she told me her harrowing story. “It’s the same with sexual assault in any sport. Are you going to be believed? What’s going to happen? What’s going to be the repercussions? In boxing, it becomes a bit of a breeding ground for pieces of shit.
It should have been a period of celebration for Williamson Pohlman. A career that was seemingly blossoming. It was, but away from the bright lights, there were dark times. “2023 was my first year on the Australian team,” Williamson Pohlman says. “The pre-Olympic team was flying out to the Solomon Islands when we were sat down and were told that they had received some allegations about one of our coaches. We can’t tell you what they are because he was still under investigation. We were told to let us know why he wasn’t here. But he was allowed to come to the Solomon Islands because that is a Boxing Australia-sanctioned event, as long as he didn’t engage with any women. I was later told that they were of a sexual nature.
“The previous year, the whole team went to Thailand for a training camp. It was the second-to-last day before we flew back home to Australia. They put two training sessions back-to-back, but it was way too hot and humid. I collapsed; I was unconscious, and I had multiple seizures. My clothes had to be ripped off. I ended up in the hospital. On the way home, that same coach took a sexually explicit photo of me without my consent. It was witnessed. But nobody reported it to the police or even told me about it. I still haven’t been formally told he took that photo, even though it’s in media articles and reports.
“We were in Colorado a few months before the Olympics, and that is when it hit the media. A boxing coach has stood down due to sexual misconduct. Eleven out of the twelve cases had been substantiated.”
There is unfortunately more to come. Williamson Pohlman also alleges she was sexually assaulted by a former world champion. That case is ongoing at the time of writing.
At just 24, the boxing career of Marissa Williamson Pohlman should just be beginning. But it looks to be over. Pohlman has announced her retirement. A decision that you can say has been made for her. You hope at some point that there is a way back for her. But, at least for now, the chances of a comeback seem to be somewhat remote. The relationship with the relevant Australian amateur boxing organisations appears to be broken beyond repair. Williamson Pohlman has been vocal about the way that she has been treated. Feeling persecuted, bullied and victimised just for speaking up. She is pushing for change. “I just want a safe environment for female athletes to thrive.” A change that should be a given.
