(AUG 11)  When Tamm Thibeault fast-tracked her way to a world championship in 2026, she pulled off a high-stakes gamble we rarely see in boxing. Thibeault proved she belongs at the very top, but for long-time boxing fans, her quick rise felt incredibly familiar. It instantly brought back memories of November 18, 2005, when another legendary Canadian boxer took the exact same risk and shook up the sport.

photo credit:  Mary Ann Owen - November 18, 2005

Long before modern social media and big Olympic hype machines made it easier to market top talent, Jeannine Garside, 2015 International Women's Boxing Hall of Famer,  took one of the biggest risks in boxing history. On November 18, 2005, she walked into the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, with a 3-0 pro record.

Her opponent? Multi-world champion Lisa “Bad News” Brown, who held a seasoned 12-1-2 record and was widely ranked as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet. By all normal boxing logic, Garside was walking into a trap. Instead, she put on a clinic, beating Brown to win the WIBA Super Bantamweight world title in only her fourth professional fight.

Photo credit:  Sue TL Fox

Garside’s incredible win set a new standard for women's boxing. She proved that when a fighter has elite talent, they don't need years of padded records against easy opponents. The best just need a chance to fight the best.

While Thibeault’s 2026 victory came with a prestigious Ring Magazine belt, Garside didn't have that luxury in 2005. Back then.

At the time, this this left a massive hole in the sport, leaving female fighters without an independent, respected trophy to prove who was truly the best of the best.  That gap is exactly the reason why the WBAN P4P World Title belt was created for women's boxing.

I have to be candid about this dilemma at the time, I was frankly tired of waiting for traditional boxing media to catch up, so the WBAN belt was created and made it's debut in June of 2008 with Holly Holm vs. Mary Ann Owen and Jeannine Garside vs. Chevelle Hallback.

The connection between Jeannine Garside in 2005 and Tamm Thibeault in 2026 shows that true greatness always requires a leap of faith. Garside took that leap without the backing of major modern networks or belts.

Today, as Thibeault benefits from a sport that is finally giving women more of the spotlight, she is carrying a torch lit decades ago. Both fighters prove that when you are truly world-class, four fights are all it takes to shock the world.

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