The last decade has brought a drastic and well-deserved increase in the popularity of female boxing. The sport is truly experiencing a golden generation of fighters who are amassing a strong following of fans and gaining attention outside of the boxing world. As a result, boxing is finally being looked at as a sport that’s not exclusively for men. Outside of the emergence of great athletes who have chosen the sport, to what do we owe this rise in popularity? Let’s explore some of the reasons why female boxing has been on the rise.
Famous Names
The growth of any sport usually requires famous names and star power. Tennis is a great example of this. When Venus and Serena Williams first burst onto the scene, women’s tennis exploded. They became appointment viewing for all sports fans and opened the door for a new generation of tennis players.
Female boxing has taken a similar path. The daughters of famous boxers, most notably Laila Ali and Jacqui Frazier-Lyde were critical in jumpstarting widespread interest in the sport. Fighters like Christy Martin and Lucia Rijker were also important trailblazers that helped to open up the audience for female boxing. Much like the Williams sisters, they opened the door for the most recognizable names in female boxing today like Alycia Baumgardner and Katie Taylor. They have become the stars of the sport that have helped to put female boxing in the spotlight. But it started with athletes like Ali, Frazier-Lyde, and Martin.
Movies and TV
Naturally, up-and-coming sports like female boxing can’t grow unless they have an outlet for people to watch. Fortunately, more TV networks have been open to putting female boxing matches on TV. This has allowed the top fighters to build their following, which helps to bring in new viewers, making female boxing more in demand for networks to carry.
However, don’t discount the impact that movies about female boxers can have on the popularity of the sport. In 2004, the Oscar-winning movie Million Dollar Baby told an amazing story about a female boxer, helping to open up everybody’s eyes to the sport. More recently, the Netflix documentary Untold: Deal with the Devil shared the story of Christy Martin, one of the greatest female boxers of all time. This helped to generate interest in the sport from people who previously had shown little interest in women’s boxing.
There is also an upcoming biopic about Martin in which she will be played by Sydney Sweeney. Two decades after Million Dollar Baby, this movie will have an opportunity to push the needle even further and shine a spotlight on female boxers.
Olympics
The inclusion of female boxing at the 2012 Olympics was a huge step forward for the sport. At that point, it had been nearly 20 years since USA Boxing had officially sanctioned women’s boxing as an amateur sport. Countless other countries followed the lead. But until female boxing got a platform like the Olympics, it was difficult for the sport to grow past a certain point. However, now that the world has access to the best amateur fighters during the Olympics, it’s easier for the audience to grow.
Betting
It’d be impossible to ignore the impact sports betting has had on a wide variety of sports. With fans able to place bets on boxing matches, they become more engaged and more invested in outcomes. With betting legal in dozens of states, fans have more of a reason to watch female boxing matches, increasing their interest in the sport. Therefore, it’s a good thing that there are many prominent boxing betting sites that offer a wide array of betting markets on boxing matches.
Fitness
Some of the popularity of female boxing has come about because of fitness. Boxing fitness has given generations of women a fun and effective form of exercise. In addition to getting in better shape, women learn the basics of boxing during their workout routine. In turn, they have a greater interest in female boxers whose moves they are replicating in their workouts. This has helped to open up a new audience for female boxing.
Rise in Skill Level
In addition to having recognizable names who are blossoming into stars, the biggest influence on the popularity of female boxing has been improvement in the skill level of boxers. Sports fans will always be in awe of athletes who can do things that can’t be replicated by ordinary people. The skill level of female boxers has risen to the level where that is becoming the case. Elite female boxers are just as skilled and talented as their male counterparts. Therefore, the entertainment value is just as high, helping to increase the overall popularity of female boxing.
