HISTORY OF
WOMEN'S BOXING

TOP HONORS OF PAST WOMEN BOXERS 

WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE SPORT.....These women are the warriors for the cause of women boxing.  They put themselves on the line to challenge the system to obtain equal rights for not only themselves, but for all other women boxers, amateur and professional.   Some may not have become the Top of the Rank fighter, but what they accomplished was much more.   They fought for the rights of other women.

PAT PINEDA 
FIRST WOMAN TO GET A BOXING LICENSE IN CALIFORNIA

Pat Pineda challenged the State of California in the mid 70's to obtain a boxing license. She was the first woman to get a boxing license in California.

SHIRLEY "ZEBRA GIRL" TUCKER
CHALLENGED CALIFORNIA OVER LENGTHENING THE ROUNDS

"ZEBRA GIRL" TUCKER 1979 - Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Tucker forced the California Commission to change their regulations which forbade female fighters from engaging in more than four-round bouts.

 The Commission was KO’d by a legality brought on by the American Civil Liberties Union.Reference to Historical data:  Boxing Illustrated April 1979, "Shirley (Zebra Girl) Tucker The girl who kayoed a commission, by Mary-Ann Noble.

Lady Tyger Trimiar

Cathy "Cat" Davis   - Lady Tyger Trimiar   - Jackie Tonawanda October 1977 - The New York Supreme Court, Justice Nathaniel T. Helman rules that the New York State Athletic Commissions rule against women’s boxing is unconstitutional, violating equal protection

Cathy "Cat" Davis

clauses of Federal and State Constitutions. The ruling was in response to the lawsuit that Cathy "CAT" Davis had pursued against the Commission The Judge did rule that CAT had only applied to fight other women. He directed the commission to promulgate new rules for licensing women boxers, and that they were to do that in reasonable time frame. Reference to Historical data:  Boxing Illustrated 78, and New York Times 1978.

Jill Lafler Fights to fight
 in Amateurs - 1982

She appealed and Ingham County Circuit judge Raymond Hotchkiiss ruled that she could fight, but his ruling was over turned by Federal judge Wendell Miles, who issued an eight page opinion.  Judge Hotchkiss's ruling had suspended the competition in the flyweight class until Miss Lafler's case could be heard.  Judge Miles said the difference between male and female anatomies made it unrealistic to believe that women could enter the sport of boxing and operate under the same rules with no detrimental effects on the safety of the participants.   He also said that she failed to prove that she would probably be successful or that she would suffer irreparable harm if she could not fight. Miles also said Lafler could not ensure that her participation would not hurt the tournament and could not prove "the public interest would be served" by her fighting.    The judge said he could find no evidence of sex discrimination and said a separate tournament could be set up for women to box women.  Miss Lafler was, as she put it, "zombied out: when she heard his decision. "Just for a minute, I lost it, I though for sure I was going to win."  She is unsure as to her future, as there are no other women amateur boxers in Michigan. She had fought and defeated a fourteen-year-old boy in her only previous bout.  BOXING ILLUSTRATED "SEX DISCRIMINATION" - AMATEUR BOXING, Page 56,
Women's page , May 1982

Gail Grandchamp Makes History
in Massachusetts

On April 16, 1992,  after a ten-year battle in court in Massachusetts,  Gail Grandchamp of North Adams, Massachusetts won her battle to fight as a woman in a ruling by a state Superior Court judge who ruled that  a woman boxer was illegally barred from the ring, because of her sex.

 During her battle to win the right to box as an amateur, she passed the age of 36 , the maximum age for amateur fighters.  Knowing this, she continued to appear in court to obtain the right for other women and won.

Dallas Malloy Paves the way for Amateurs

October 1993 - Dallas Malloy, 16,  went to court and won the right to compete in the Amateurs. She won the right to compete in the first sanctioned bout by USA Boxing, the governing body of Olympic-style boxing in the United States.