By Stephanie Kent
Why WBC’s Jill Diamond is “cautiously optimistic” about the future of female boxers
Sports Illustrated Will Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano on April 30 be the match of the year, but will that be enough to fix the full-body problems in women’s boxing? Jill Diamond, International Secretary of the World Boxing Council, doesn’t believe a great match can be the game-changing moment the sport needs.
Diamond, a recent NY State Boxing Hall of Fame athlete, fell in love with boxing (and subsequently, boxing) through her late husband. While training at the Kingsway Boxing Gym in New York City in 2005, she got to know many female boxers training there and noticed a number of issues that still affect the sport today: that That is, female boxers train and fight as hard as their male counterparts. , but earn only a fraction of the compensation and recognition for their work. “Women are passionate about what they do because they’re not really doing it for the money,” she says.
Jill emailed the World Boxing Council with her observations and received a response from their president, José Sulaimán.
Jill said at the time, women’s boxing was far from thriving. There are female boxers (canned women dating back to early eighteenth-century London), but almost none of the women are family names. And no wonder – in the early years, a female world champion could only earn up to $3,000.
“Women’s boxing has been around since before it was sanctioned,” says Diamond. “But they are not taken seriously. Advertisers don’t care. In Mexico, boxing is boxing. In the United States, we fought to create opportunities for women. I met a lot of women, but never heard of anyone but Christy Martin,” said Diamond. “They are not on TV. No promoters. They don’t make the same money, they don’t get the same attention.”
José Sulaimán shared Jill’s concerns, and she said after her email he agreed: “For him, it’s talent – not gender – that matters.”
WBC extended the invitation for Jill to attend their annual convention that year, where they pledged to support women in boxing. They established the Women’s Championships Committee, which organizes international conferences to help women network, establish award programs and leaderboards, and help them improve their skills in the field. Boxing.
During her years of working with the WBC and the Women’s Championships Committee, Diamond has seen the sport’s fullness. “There have been great women’s games that have fallen out of sight, with very talented athletes but having a bad time.”
In recent years, women’s boxing is increasingly developing. The inclusion of women’s boxing in the Olympics had an international impact on spurring interest in the sport; Equally important, the games have developed a substantial pool of talent, launching the careers of famous professional boxers like Mikaela Mayer and Claressa Shields in the United States. Streaming services like ESPN+ and DAZN are promoting women’s fights, such as last month’s showdown between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano as the first women’s fight on the Madison Square title Garden.
Despite the historic fight, Diamond said, “They’ve proven it can be done, proven they’re worth it. But we’ve seen great battles that don’t pick up momentum. I hope but still not convinced. Taylor and Serrano have proven that it can be done, but there is still less room for a breakout. If you don’t have exposure, you won’t have a chance to make a living. Amanda Serrano is full-time. What Katie and Amanda have in common is that they are both married to boxers. They hardly have a life outside of sports. Not everyone can do that. It’s the system, not the women. ”
Still, Taylor-Serrano may offer some keys to success for the next big fight between female fighters. As he looks back on that night at Madison Square Garden, Diamond realizes some impetus for future wars.
The venue was certainly an important factor, but more importantly, Taylor-Serrano delivered a fight that fighting fans really had no idea who would win. The era of Christy Martin or Laila Ali plowing through unworthy opponents is over and for women’s boxing to thrive, promoters will need to create highly competitive bouts. Better advertising and marketing are also needed. WBC, DAZN, Matchroom, and Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Advertising Program have delivered a master class in spreading the word about Taylor-Serano.
It’s also important, says Diamond, that more and more women are participating in larger, more frequent wars. “People don’t say enough about how good Franchon was as well. Do they need great battles or can they be really good engaging battles? Not every fight is the best fight of all time. I’d like to see every card have at least two of those eight fights being women. Let it be no exception. However, “she said,” fans have to show promoters that they can take those risks. If we can prove that there is a fan base, there will be more women’s wars.”
“I really feel hopeful. History has been made, momentum has been created… Now it’s new, what’s the next moment? Will it drip down? “
