Women's boxing in the UK: A brief history

Women’s boxing in the UK can be traced back to London in the early 18th century. Informal, bare-knuckle fights often took place on the streets of London in the 1700s and all-female contests were also documented.  

The first-ever record of a female boxer was Londoner Elizabeth Wilkinson Stokes, known at the time as the “European Championess” of boxing. 

Despite women’s involvement in the sport throughout its history, barriers were eventually created to prevent participation in modern times.  

In 1880, males at all levels were given a platform to excel in boxing when the Amateur Boxing Association was formed. This organisation organised competitive fights and competitions and centralised the rules for competitive boxing in the UK.  

Yet, there was no place in the association for female fighters, who were prohibited from training at affiliated clubs. As a result, women boxers could not access the same resources and routes into boxing as men. This was the case from the grassroots to the professional level for over a century.   

For 116 years, the law prevented female involvement in organised boxing. After the Amateur Boxing Association was formed, more rules and legislation prevented female boxing.  

Even when all-female fights were allowed, like in the 1904 Olympics, they were restricted to non-competition, exhibition matches.  

Women's fight at the 1904 Olympics in St Louis, Missouri, USA © Public domain

Generally, women were discouraged from boxing for most of the 20th century. Occasionally, all-women groups formed, or exhibition fights were organised. But male opposition consistently prevented women’s boxing from taking place in public.   

In 1926, an exhibition fight between Annie Newton and Madge Baker was arranged at Shoreditch Baths, Hackney. However, the match was shut down by Shoreditch council after Hackney mayor, Rev W Evans raised concerns about the fight.  

The limited opportunities for female boxing remained until growing frustrations among some female boxers led to action and some upheaval in the late 1990s. 

Jane Couch, in particular, was a pioneer in the progress of female boxing in the UK. Couch spent much of her early career boxing against men or going overseas to fight in countries where the sport was legal after failing to find suitable opportunities in England.  

Yet, her main frustration came from being turned away from gyms in the UK and she knew drastic change was needed. 

During a TV interview, Couch spoke out against the British Board of Boxing Control’s restrictions on female boxing. Shortly after, two lawyers contacted Couch to change the rules. 

After two years of building a case, Couch and her legal team took the British Board of Boxing Control to the High Court for sexual discrimination in 1996. Couch won the case and the ban on female boxing was lifted.  

In 1996 the Amateur Boxing Association of England first allowed women to join and compete at affiliated clubs. Under the rule changes, girls as young as ten could train and enter competitions.  

Two years later, the first official UK women's boxing match took place. Simona Lukic and Couch fought at the Caesars nightclub in Streatham, London, where more than 1,500 spectators watched the bout.  

Since the ban on women’s boxing was lifted in 1996, the sport’s popularity has soared.  

According to a Sport England Active Lives survey, over 400,000 women took part in boxing activity between 2018 and 2019. The number of women actively boxing also grew by nearly 70,000 compared to 2015 to 2016.  

The growth of female boxing has had a positive influence on involvement in the sport at an amateur level. But a growing interest towards women’s boxing at higher levels is also evident. 

At the 2012 Olympics, women could box competitively for the first time and Natasha Jonas made history by becoming the first female boxer to represent Team GB. However, days later, Nicola Adams created another landmark moment when she won the first-ever women’s gold in boxing at the Olympics.  

Since the success of women’s boxing at the 2012 Olympics, more engagement in the achievements of British female fighters followed. The likes of Savannah Marshall and Katie Taylor have become world boxing icons in the 2010s and 2020s.  

Taylor, in particular, has become a renowned figure in women’s boxing after turning professional in 2016. So far, she has achieved huge success, winning all 21 of her pro fights. 

Taylor’s following has grown considerably, and her fight against Amanda Serrano in 2022 was the most-watched female boxing match in history with 1.5 million viewers. 

After decades of struggle, women's boxing is on the up worldwide, but particularly in the UK. The growth and exposure of female boxing have helped younger, aspiring boxers to find pathways into the sport and this trend looks poised to grow further in the coming years.

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