(SEPT 22)  The World Boxing Council will host a first ever four day convention centered around the sport of Women's boxing, September 24-28 in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The event is expected to attract a sizable contingent of the outstanding past and present female boxers along with WBC officials and notable personalities from the sport.

Among the over twenty notable boxers who have confirmed attendance are: Cecilia Braekhus, current WBC welterweight titleholder and generally considered the top pound/pound fighter in the sport; Jelena Mrdjenovich, current WBC featherweight champ; Jackie Nava and Alicia Ashley who recently fought an excitingly close ten round fight for the WBC super bantamweight title, Nava winning a close decision on September 7 in Mexico City; Laura Serrano, former WIBF lightweight champion who, in 1994, debuted professionally with a six round draw against the then almost invincible Christy Martin, who will also attend; Ana Torres, former WBC super flyweight titleholder; and Nikki Adler current WBC super middleweight champ; ..and more.

Also, among the notables from the boxing community will be Sue Fox, founder of WBAN and the recently formed International Boxing Women's Hall of Fame (IWBHF) who will deliver a presentation on the formative history of female boxing in addition to participating in panel discussions.

In addition, attending will be Melivina Lathan, NYSAC Commission of Boxing, and the first African American woman to hold that position; and Mauricio Sulaiman, current WBC President. WBC Championship Co chairs, Jill Diamond and Ed Pearson will be among the moderators and Ringside physician, Dr. Paul Wallace, along with several other doctors, will conduct discussions on the different aspects of sport safety, with an emphases on woman's health, neurology and nutrition.

The convention will include a full measure of socializing and award ceremonies, but the most encouraging program inclusion is the ten and a half hours included in the the convention's agenda, allocated to discussions regarding the primary topic that makes this gathering pertinent to every attendee; the current state of the sport of Women's boxing and, hopefully, how to improve the present course of that sport. There will also be a full officials clinic, open to anyone who wishes to attend.

Following far too many decades of discrimination that blocked women from stepping into a professional boxing ring, female professional boxers debuted in the early/mid 1990's to significant fan acclaim and media coverage. However, for more than the past decade and a half, particularly in the United States, the sport has endured a lack of progress, despite the fact that the pool of talented female boxers has never been deeper.

For that reason alone the timing of this convention is inspired and the World Boxing Council is to be congratulated for taking a bold first step towards bringing forward the issue of how the present course of the sport can be remedied. It is a move that female boxing fans and everyone associated with the sport will be watching closely. It is a consummate example of leading from the front, exhibited by the largest and most prestigious organization in the sport.

Written by:  Bernie McCoy