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Public Challenges in Women's
Boxing---Not a New Thing!
By Sue TL Fox
Some may think that women boxers
putting out "public challenges" to other female boxers may be something that
has transpired in the last 10 years or so.....But WBAN has discovered that
the first "Public Challenge" as of this date of the research we have in our
archives actually took place on September 22, 1890! Hattie Stewart, of Norfolk, Virginia, put out a public challenge in a
local newspaper, to fellow boxer Hattie Leslie, of Buffalo, New York.
Stewart, who was living in Seattle..Full
Story
Women Boxing Outlawed
After Male
Boxer Dies
After the
death of a male fighter in October of 1997, the
Federazioni Pugilistica Italiana outlawed female boxing
entirely. They even stopped a televised WIBF flyweight fight
that was to be in Milan to enforce this ban. The police were
brought in to restore the peace and order.
Woman Boxer Goes on a month long hunger
strike against Don King....1987!
Lady
Tyger Trimiar, former World lightweight champion, made
headlines in April of 1987, when she went on a "hunger
strike" for over a month, losing 30 lbs., in protest to
how women boxers were treated and paid. Her hunger strike was
directed at infamous DON KING. Two other female fighters were
also on a hunger strike along with Trimiar, but the other two
backed out. TRIMIAR said that if women did not get more
recognition, that they would continue to be regarded as a
"Novelty" act, and that there would be no future for
women boxers. The women picketed the RAY LEONARD-MARVIN HAGLER
fight on April 6, 1987 in Las Vegas, protesting promoter
ROBERT ARUM’S refusal to work with female boxers.
Laila Ali may not have been able to
challenge her Famous Dad in the ring....
Jackie Tonawanda got the
opportunity to work out in the gym and spar with MUHAMMAD ALI On
September 2, 1976,
at his training camp at the Concord Hotel Kiamesha Lake, N.Y.
TONAWANDA'S remarks about ALI: "Ali's hands were faster than
ever, I'm glad they weren't touching me. His combinations were
beautiful--a jet plane would do second to him."
Jackie Tonawanda Spars With
Muhammad Ali - September 26, 1976
Jackie Tonawanda
got the
opportunity to work out in the gym and spar with MUHAMMAD ALI at his
training camp at the Concord Hotel Kiamesha Lake, N.Y. TONAWANDA'S
remarks about ALI: "Ali's hands were faster than ever, I'm glad they
weren't touching me. His combinations were beautiful--a jet plane would
do second to him."
Fredia "The Cheetah" Gibbs Makes
Movie
FREDIA "THE CHEETAH" GIBBS made her debut in a movie
that is based on a "Rocky" type story, about a Latino family who loses
their young son that is a fighter. The daughter decides to following
the boy's footsteps in an effort to fulfill his dream vicariously.
GIBBS is the villain in the movie, and the movie is called "Knockout."
Boxing is a Manly Science and Art
- January 1995
STEVE ACUNTO, who served on the
NEW YORK STATE ATHLETIC COMMISSION for 49 years, proclaimed that BOXING
is a manly science and art, who at the time in 1995 was teaching the
only accredited boxing course in the country at Westchester Community
College. He went on to say that he had women begin to sign up for his
class in the last three years, and were entering the ring. ACUNTO who
fought as a professional in the 1940’s declared that he DOES NOT THINK
women should box.
Zambia Decides to
Introduce Bill to Allow Women to Boxing and Wrestle - November 1994
Zambia’s Sports Minister
Patrick Kafumukache took a jab at tradition as he promised to introduce
a bill that would allow women to participate in boxing and wrestling.
The sports minister felt that it would cause a few cultural and
traditional anxieties, but that the country needed to move forward with
the rest of the world.
On the day
another man dies of injuries suffered in fight-female amateurs win the
right to take part in the sport - Nov. 1996
Boxing faced renewed criticism when on the day another male fighter
died after fighting, women and girls aged 10 and over would be allowed
to fight as amateurs for the first time in Britain. The coincidence of
the announcement from the Amateur Boxing Association of England and the
death of the Italian Fabrizio De Chiara, a 25 year-old middleweight,
after collapsing at the end of a title fight, sparked an angry reaction
from campaigners against the sport. But among the voices raised in
concern about women’s new rights to fight was a medical expert who has
been one of boxing’s highest-profile defenders. Dr. Adrian Whiteson,
chief medical adviser to the British Boxing Board of Control, said: "I’m
terribly concerned about this. I don’t think enough is known about the
potential risks to women for such a decision to be made. Blows around
the breast or chest can induce bruising, and the nodule which is created
is difficult to distinguish from cancer.
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MAN VS. WOMEN BOUT
WAS IT REALLY SANCTIONED?
OCTOBER 9, 1999 |
This fight
was declared "Internationally" and from the
"state of Washington" as the "first-ever sanctioned" bout between a male and
a female, Margaret MacGregor vs. Loi Chow. But,
few knew that the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC)
instructed Fight Fax, the official boxing record-keeper
designated by the ABC under federal law, to list this event as
an "exhibition" for both boxers.
They were quoted as saying in a press release, "It is
the position of the ABC not to recognize the results from the
proposed male vs. female match-up scheduled for this weekend
in Seattle, Washington. The ABC has informed Fight Fax,
the official boxing record-keeper designated by the ABC under
federal law, to list this event as an exhibition for both
boxers. This action is being taken to
express the ABC's strong opposition to any type of male vs.
female boxing event that will be recognized by the standard
set by this Association." Dated October 6, 1999,
three days before the fight! TL Fox
You have seen the mixed match fight--the
0-3 fighters on major boxing cards ---but have you seen "Foxy Boxing?"
--It's been tried also- 1979
"Foxy Boxing
Era" In 1989, These women would set
the trend in boxing in skimpy bikinis. Bikini-clad female boxers
punched and pounded their way in clubs like the Coconut Club in
Southampton. They call themselves the "Foxy Fighting
Knockouts." The weekly two-hours shows had created a not to
favorable response with the community. Apparently before foxy boxing
took hold in Hampton, it had been a rage for a long time in other
Long Island and New York area nightspots.`
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