(SEPT 21) On September 21, 1904, the modern Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri, hosted a spectacle that was both a century ahead of its time and deeply rooted in the era's carnival atmosphere. Amid the heat of the World’s Fair, a small group of women stepped into the boxing ring. Full Story on WBAN Historical website.

They were not competing for gold, silver, or bronze; they were there as a demonstration event, an exhibition meant to entertain rather than to establish a athletic standard.

The crowd watched with a mix of curiosity and amusement.

In 1904, society viewed women's boxing as a novelty act or a vaudeville routine rather than a legitimate sport.

While the men battered each other for official Olympic glory, the women's bouts were quickly relegated to a historical footnote.

 Instead of launching a new era for female athletes, the ring doors slammed shut. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and amateur boxing governing bodies routinely banned women from official competition, viewing the sport as too dangerous and "unladylike."

In 1923, the first female boxer Jeanne La Mar Jeanne LaMar, obtain a boxing license in the state of New Jersey.

For decades, women’s boxing survived only in the underground circuits, unsanctioned,  and sideshows. It wasn't until the 1970s that the movement for legitimacy was beginning to actually take it more seriously. Legend in the Past Barbara Buttrick

In the mid- 1970s there was an attempt through a women's boxing magazine (more like a booklet) that put out a survey to see if boxing fans were ready to see women boxers in the Olympics.

During this decade, many trailblazers fought for the right to box, fight more than four rounds, have it legal to fight in certain states of the United States, and difficulty applying for boxing licenses throughout many of the states.

The road from that brief exhibition in St. Louis to official Olympic recognition would ultimately take 108 years.

The historic breakthrough culminated at the London 2012 Olympic Games. More than a century after women first demonstrated their skills in St. Louis, female fighters finally stepped into the Olympic ring to compete for official medals.

Nicola Adams of Great Britain, Katie Taylor of Ireland, and Claressa Shields of the United States became household names, capturing the first-ever Olympic gold medals in their respective weight classes.
What began as a World's Fair novelty on a late September day in 1904 evolved into a fierce, century-long battle for equity, proving that the toughest fight for women boxers was simply being allowed into the ring.

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