Boxing
Book Review: The Promise of Women’s Boxing
Gone are the days when women’s boxing was a novelty, a side event or an occasional attraction in the shadow of its male counterpart. Author Malissa Smith set out to document this history with academic rigor and literary flair in her classic “The History of Women’s Boxing.” Her latest delivery is another example of her commitment to this endeavor.
Presented as “a timely examination of newfangled women’s boxing, from its first inclusion in the 2012 Olympics to the present day,” Smith’s recently released work titled “The Promise of Women’s Boxing” (Rowman & Littlefield Publishing, 292 pages) tells the story of the maturation of women’s boxing in the 21st century with the emergence of pioneers such as Katie Taylor, Amanda Serrano, Claressa Shields and many others.
After a highly informative introduction that covers the entire history of women’s boxing to date, Smith jumps straight to the beginning of what is already considered the sport’s golden era, right after the explosive incursion of pioneers such as Christy Martin and Lucia Rijker in the 1990s. Fighters like Alicia Ashley and Heather Hardy are paving the way for a novel generation that changed the boxing landscape forever when they emerged from the first Olympic Games to feature women’s boxing, launching the professional careers of fighters like Taylor, Shields, Mikaela Mayer, Natasha Jonas and many others.
Claressa Shields wrote the foreword to Smith’s latest work – photo: Tom Casino/Showtime
Generational clashes between the ancient school players who grew up in the trenches and took control of their careers by funding their own training and selling their own tickets to their shows, and the novel ones who fight for equal pay with their male counterparts and push their careers into million dollar territory and their breakthrough achievements are one of the most fascinating elements of this book, where you can feel the sense of exponential growth in real time.
The personal stories of each of these warriors are only part of the journey. Smith’s in-depth research into every detail of their careers and how each contributed to making women’s boxing one of the fastest-growing sports in recent memory is impressive. It details the story of the two-decade transition from low-wage earners to multi-million-dollar purses, the growing interest of promoters and television networks, and the shift from skepticism to admiration among boxing fans.
Like her previous “The history of women’s boxing” is a description of a long and arduous process. This work describes the explosion of that initial Gigantic Bang that produced the greatest generation of warriors in history. With names like pound-for-pound queen Cecilia Braekhus and her fight to legalize boxing in Norway, as well as stories of other struggles in other countries with women like Marcela Acuña and her monumental fight for a license in her native Argentina, this story has a wide international reach. And the continuing descriptions of how the boxing business is gradually embracing and supporting the sport after decades of ridicule and even ridicule make this book an even more complete historical record.
Smith, born in Recent York and training at the legendary Gleason’s Gym since the early 1940s to stay in shape, is also part of The Ring’s pioneering women’s evaluation panel, and through her membership was also inducted to serve as an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. During training sessions at the world-renowned facility in Brooklyn, she got to know some of her book’s characters firsthand and witnessed their development in real time, gaining access that few other writers would have. Each of them’s personal stories echo on every page of this book in a way that blurs the line between the fighter in the ring and the character outside of it, giving it a fantastic perspective from which to analyze the development of each of them. the great players of this era not only in terms of their athletic prowess, but also in how life’s dramas influenced their careers and inspired them to pursue their goals.
As the book reaches its final chapters, leaving no stone unturned as it unfolds, Smith’s work finally delves into the ongoing debates about the future of women’s boxing and the many challenges standing in its path. From the controversies surrounding two-by-three-minute rounds to the conundrums surrounding transgender fighters entering the fight, “The Promise of Women’s Boxing: A Momentous Recent Era of Sweet Science” never fails to answer nagging questions and raise novel, burning questions.
According to Smith, there is already a very definitive answer to one question.
“What’s clear is that the women of boxing have persevered,” Smith says in the book’s final chapters, “driving each other through the camaraderie in the gym and the willingness to push the boundaries of the sport to make it better for the next woman who stands for a moment on the ring apron before taking the field.” fighting. This spirit endures hardships and disappointments, but certainly as moments of grace that shine and make everything seem novel again.
Although this is a historical volume with one foot on the literary side and the other in the journalistic sphere, it is in the constant reminder of the spirit of perseverance that this book finds its core – and in the certainty that there will be much more to write about the fate of women’s boxing in future.
In this gigantic undertaking, Smith (and all of us writers along with her) will be ready, but she certainly is ready.
I believe the warrior within her couldn’t have it any other way.
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