Secret scenes: Women's boxing
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By Lucy Powell
Posted: Tue Sep 12 2006 
Sparring practice makes perfect ‘I know this’ll sound funny,’ she continues, ‘but the gym is like my church. My mum’s a Catholic, d and she’s very involved with her church. She can’t stand it that I box. I’ll go to Germany and fight in front of thousands of people and it’s not mentioned at home. But I’ll do a 120km run [in stages] for charity and they’re dead proud. It goes in the church newsletter. I tell my mum this is like my church. It’s my community, I feel at home here.’
Laura Saperstein was a successful corporate lawyer when the boxing bug bit her at the age of 31. ‘My boyfriend was a boxer,’ the Australian who now lives in Tufnell Park says. ‘From the first moment I tried it, my body just decided that this was what it wanted to do, and it took my brain with it.’ As with Brown, it is the ‘community and the incredible fitness’ of boxing that she enjoys. Feature continues
AdvertisementSaperstein is currently applying for her pro licence from the BBBofC, having fought and won ten amateur bouts in the last year. She has no regrets about leaving the law to train full-time: ‘Boxing is the most satisfying thing I’ve ever done, though it’s been bloody hard getting the fights I needed to turn pro.’ Fed up with matchmakers not finding her bouts, Saperstein took matters into her own hands and launched a website, boxergirl.net, two years ago, which she hopes will form a database for women boxers.
When asked why boxing’s regulating bodies seem so tepid in their support of women fighters, Cathy Brown answers that it is partly sexism and partly fear. They worry that, were a woman to sustain a serious injury, the press outcry might place the entire sport in jeopardy. Measures introduced to protect women from injury include breast protectors, plastic cups worn inside a sports bra, and a groin protector which, in Saperstein’s words, is ‘worse than useless’. In America, pro fighters also have to sign a legal document before each bout stating that, to the best of their knowledge, they aren’t pregnant at the time.
Saperstein trains in Chris Hall’s London Boxing Academy in Tottenham. Hall is a trainer of the oldest of schools. Every inch of metal, mirror and canvas in his gym is covered in a thin film of dubious moisture. Hip hop blares from an old stereo, and the sound of leather hitting leather fills the air. Above the doorless toilet in the impressively unscrubbed bathroom hangs a sign that reads: ‘If you’re too tired to aim, sit down and pee like a girl.’ But despite the masculine atmosphere, Hall is more than happy to train women: ‘The ones who come in impress me; they’re diligent, they listen, and they can fight.’
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23 comments
As a victim of abuse and rape, I would love to do this - I feel like kicking someone's arse everyday - might as well do it constructively.
Just wanted to clear up that she's not Canadian, but American (they are two seperate countries). Thanks!
I'm 13 and I want to become a good female boxer-I do want to fight and I want to encourage female boxing more! I live in Dorset does anyone know a club for female boxers? I'm currently a member at a club but me and only a few other girls train there none want to fight.
does anyone know of anywhere in birmingham i could train. I don't want to fight i just need get fit and have fun. Any help would be great :)
I'm male...not actually a boxer,but learning the basics at the momment.... I'm so intrigued by female boxers that I'd love to spar or even have a couple of rounds with a female boxer and test her skills.... I'm only 120 lbs but think I could block what ever is thrown my way, so Mariann, Dena,any female boxer please let me know if your interested in setting something up...even just a spar session.
Many thanks.
James.
U r not close to naked
Hey Carl,
I would love to talk to you about opening in Birmingham.
Check out our website and email me.
Dena Paolino
Hi.. I am all for ladies fighting in a competions including full contact kickboxing would love to open one in birmingham. If intrested would love feed back....
Being a professional female boxer I am obviously very happy with the increased interest in Women's Boxing - and hope that there may soon be another UK fighter at my weight!!.
Due to my love of the sport and desire to get more Women into boxing I have recently started offering Women only Boxing classes in London - see my website WWW.WOMENSBOXINGCLASSES.COM
WE JUST OPENED THE FIRST ALL-WOMEN'S BOXING GYM IN THE US and HOPE TO OPEN IN LONDON BY 2012!
CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.STRIKINGBEAUTIES.COM.
ALL OF OUR INQUIRIES SAY JUST WHAT YOU ALL DID---WHERE CAN A WOMAN GO TO FIGHT? SPAR? TRAIN? OR JUST WORK OUT LIKE A REAL BOXER?
CHECK US OUT AND LEY US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!!
I have just viewed this page and the bloody broken noses and bruises, fat lips etc has made me feel a bit queasy for a minute, but its too late for me. The conviction to box has already come to me, and this shocking news (i thought it'd be painless being the weaker species ;s) won't put me off. No wonder theres an influx of females wanting to do this!! I wanna be in the olympics now!!
Check out my new social networking site for female boxers.
Share training tips, find sparing partners.
Arrange fights.
post footage of your own or someone elses fights.
1on1boxergirl.ning.com
Personally i still think that we as women should just stick two fingers up to mens boxing an start out on are own underground.
Why we keep waiting for then to except use into there world of boxing, i will never understand.
If we started doing it for use, there wouldn't be much they could do about it.
Stop waiting for men to approve of everything we do, an just do it.
@ Snippet....... that is the most sense i've ever hurd from anyone regarding women in general but especially when it comes to womens aggressive nature.
If we didn't already have the will to fight in use, then we simply would not have survived.
The fact that we can and do fight is just human nature, it's got nothing to do with what your sex is.
Women really do NEED places where they can get rid of there aggression, it's just not natural to keep it in.
Biologically for a woman to be aggressive is a very natural thing and in primitive societies would be what enabled her to survive. She would normally be stuck looking after infants and the male would not be anywhere around ( out hunting, reproducing with other females) . Therefore for a female to not be able to fight to protect herself and her young would reduce her chances.
Society today has become very artificial if we are questioning a woman's fighting ability or that it is not innate.
However ladies, consider using chest protection for any full contact sport as there is some medical evidence that there is a moderately increased risk of breast cancer with trauma to the tissue there. (Men after all have groin protection for many sports).