LAS VEGAS, NV ---(February 3, 2020) Isra Girgrah Wynn is among seven modern era boxers voted into the 2020 class of the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame. Also included in that group are Sharon Anyos, Melinda Cooper, Jaime Clampitt-Hayes, Kelsey Jeffries, Valerie Mahfood and Mary Ortega. The 2020 class also includes pioneer boxer Graciela Casillas along with acclaimed boxing photographer, Mary Ann Owen and Shelley Williams. All will be honored at the seventh annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony, long considered, each year, the signal event in the sport of Women’s boxing, to be held August 29th,  at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.    

In the seventh year of the IWBHF, as the roster of modern era boxers grows close to the three dozen mark, a common thread emerges. Indeed, as is true with most sports Halls of Fame, the first class featured names familiar even to fans with only a modicum of knowledge of the sport. And, while the number of bold face type names of legendary female boxers may decrease slightly with each succeeding year, a closer examination of each boxer honored, in the Hall’s seven classes, makes it clear that a certain similarity exists. Each honored inductee, without exception, was, during her career, imbued with abundant boxing skill that served to set her apart from her contemporaries and confirmed, beyond doubt, her rightful place in the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame. This was true with the Martins, the Ali’s and the Rijkers of the early classes and remains just as true with every one of the of the more recent groups of modern era boxers that have followed. It is certainly true with this seventh class of inductees, one text book example being Isra Girgrah Wynn.

Like many of those who venture into the ranks of boxing, Girgrah Wynn was, first, an athlete, playing soccer and volleyball in high school in Canada. Likewise, similar to many future female boxers, she initially gravitated to the sport to keep in shape. However, it is at this point, that her story deviates from the norm of most start up boxing careers. The “book” on commencing a career inside the ropes, recommends an active amateur career followed by a series of initial pro bouts against opponents designed to instill confidence in the debuting fighter. In the mid-nineties, now located in Atlanta, Girgrah-Wynn made the choice to bypass those long standing sign posts, instead opting for a full year devoted to learning the sport, coupled with intense gym work. Feeling ready for competition, she eschewed the amateur ranks and stepped in the ring, in her first pro bout, with a highly ranked fighter, Deirdre Gogarty, who, at that point, was on a career path to bouts with Laura Serrano and Christy Martin. In a not so shocking result, Girgrah Wynn came out on the short end of a third round stoppage. “I’m not sure what the thinking was behind that matchmaking strategy,” Girgrah Wynn now admits.

The thinking changed, but not Girgrah Wynn’s strategy in terms of competition. Her second professional bout was with unbeaten (3-0) Melinda Robinson and resulted in evening her record at 1-1 and was the starting point of a nine bout winning streak sandwiched around a draw with tough Andrea DeShong. With her skill and reputation growing with each successive bout, two years later, Girgrah Wynn provided unmistakable credence to her unorthodox career strategy, staring across the canvas at Christy Martin in a ring located in one of the meccas of the sport, Madison Square Garden. An early, flash knockdown, scored by Martin, proved to be the difference in what many, including the TV commentators, adjudged a very close bout. “The Garden, New York, TV, it was amazing,” Girgrah Wynn remembers, “we tried for a rematch, but it wasn’t to be.”

What was to be was another win skien, nineteen out of Girgrah Wynn’s last twenty one career bouts, including wins over Michele Nielsen for the WIBF super featherweight title, Tracy Byrd, widely regarded as one of the “tough outs” in the sport, Melissa Del Valle, who came to the bout with a 28-1 record, Laura Serrano, who, Girgrah Wynn handed her first career loss and Jo Jo Wyman for the IFBA super featherweight title. The start of the professional boxing career of Isra Girgrah Wynn, it can be reasonably asserted, was a bit unorthodox, but where there is no room for doubt is that, once underway, it was an primmer on how the sport is done and done well. Girgrah Wynn, throughout her nine year career, constantly looked up the rankings, rather than down, for opponents. She
let her well honed skills inside the ropes define her and she finished a career (28-3-2) that is a credit to her sport for which she’ll be, deservedly, honored on August 29 in Las Vegas.