What year did Women Boxing Archive Network (WBAN) come into existence and who created WBAN?

Direct response from Sue TL Fox, Creator/Founder of WBAN:  This has been quite a journey so far, that began in 1996, after wanting to get in shape to run in the Race For the Cure in Portland, Oregon. I joined a boxing gym in Portland, after not being in the sport for 17 plus years. I learned about Christy Martin and the fantastic fight she had fighting Dierdre Gogarty. Being a pioneer boxer it peeked my interest.  What is odd, is WBAN would have never taken place in May of 1998, because originally, I wanted to create a website on Breast Cancer, an informational site. Full Story on WBAN's beginnings

Are boxing records of past female pioneer boxers accurate on the Internet?

Absolutely NOT!  On the Internet there is inaccuracy of past female boxers. 
Many of the pioneer female boxers fought exhibitions and their fights were not sanctioned, and not sent in to the boxing records organization FIGHT FAX who was in existence when many of the pioneer female boxers were actually fighting in the past.   FIGHTFAX recorded commission records throughout countless years, and many of the pioneer female boxers do not even have records with FIGHTFAX and were considered exhibitions in many cases from the past according this OFFICIAL boxing records site.

Was their a ranking system for the past female boxers that pioneered the sport?

Female boxers from the 1970's and 1980s had many rankings published in the Boxing Illustrated magazine, and the Glove Magazine, and others.  Here is a link to the rankings. Rankings throughout the years

Why is it you feature fighters that have obvious mismatches?

If I were to eliminate fighters from WBAN just because they do something the public does not approve of, there would probably be no fighters to talk about, including myself. When my book is published you will read about some of my fights and some of the not-so-good experiences that I had as a fighter. I am not here to pass judgment on fighters, only to try and improve the sport in a positive way.

What kind of a breast protector did you use in the 70's, or did they even have that type of equipment?

It was a requirement that women wear a breast protector when fighting in a professional bout.  The breast protector looked like two salad bowls, that the woman  would sew on  the inside of the bra.  

Did you wear a breast protector when you trained in the gym?

NO.   I wish that I had.  I developed problems later in life, and now wonder if it was because the majority of the time I trained, I had no protection.  I have heard other comments on this subject by women say that "you don't get hit in that area" and so why is there a concern.  I do not believe that.   Especially when a lot of times the woman's sparring partners are men.  Also, many of the female competitors came from a previous background of karate and kick-boxing.  They cannot say that no one ever kicked them in the breast at one time or another. 

I never heard of any female boxers in the 70's and 80's. I thought women were only into kickboxing then?

In the 70's and 80's, we not only had to fight to get a bout, fight to get boxing licenses to get permission to fight, but in the 70's and 80's, it was not cool for a woman to want to box. We were called a "novelty." The media did not give us a lot of coverage. Boxing promoters, boxing magazines, etc., were discouraged by featuring us. When Cathy "Cat" Davis was featured on the cover of Ring magazine, you would have thought the world was coming to an end. To my knowledge, Ring magazine never did any other feature stories  on female boxers in that era.

I noticed that the women's boxing records vary greatly from one from another, why is that?

While doing the research for my website, to my surprise, it was very hard to verify any of the female boxers' records.   When I contacted various State Athletic Commissions to obtain information, they did not have records going back before 1978.  I am still working on this project.   Another thing that I noticed is that I believe that some of the records were either embellished, or that the women are counting countless unsanctioned bouts, from kick-boxing matches to whatever.    I would be more inclined to evaluate a female boxer in the past by who she fought, not by any of the records that they claim to possess.    

What type of physical examination did a woman have to go through before a scheduled sanctioned boxing bout?

This varied from state to state.   In Oregon, they were very thorough.  I went to a doctor's office and had a complete physical.  In Nevada, I had one doctor come up to me about an hour before my bout, he looked at my hands, checked my wraps, and said, "Your alive."  That was the extent of my examination.  That particular fight, I was running a 102 temperature and had the flu.  When I fought in Utah, I heard the physician talking to my opponent shortly before the fight, which he didn't sound like he was checking her out by judging by their conversation.  He then came into my room to examine me, and wanted to look at my breasts. It would have been one thing for a doctor to examine a fighter's breast augmentation before and after the fight to ensure that no damage would be done or had occurred, but that was blatant disrespect and harassment.   I told him that he did not request that from the other fighter in the adjoining room, and that if he insisted on examining my breasts, that I would not fight.  He backed down, and left the room.  

What were some of the disadvantages female boxers faced in the 70's and 80's that have changed since then?