WBC starts ranking female boxers
WBA to follow suit in effort to bring ‘strong safety measures’
MEXICO CITY - The World Boxing Council ranked female boxers for the first time Tuesday, and the World Boxing Association said it will soon do the same.
“Most of the (national) boxing associations in the world are starting to have female boxing” and they were seeking some sort of global structure, WBC President Jose Sulaiman told The Associated Press. “What we want is to bring strong safety measures to women’s boxing.”
The WBC sanctioned its first women’s bout on May 28 in Tijuana, where super bantamweight Jackie Nava of Mexico became the federation’s first women’s champion by defeating Colombia’s Paola Gonzalez.
Laila Ali, daughter of Muhammad Ali, will be featured in the WBC’s second sanctioned bout Saturday in Las Vegas against Erin Toughill. That fight is for the super middleweight crown.
The rankings list the top 10 contenders in 16 divisions from strawweight (105 pounds) to heavyweight (over 175 pounds).
Sulaiman said the council has authorized other bouts in Italy, Mexico and North Korea.
So far, there has not been a financial incentive.
“We do not intend to charge any sanctioning fee to the ladies,” Sulaiman said.
George Martinez, president of the WBA-affiliated North American Boxing Association, said the WBA is “just putting everything together” for its own rankings and sanctioning of women’s bouts.
The sudden competition didn’t seem to bother Ryan Wissow, head of the Florida-based Women’s International Boxing Association, which sponsors many bouts and has its own rankings.
“There’s enough work to go around,” he said. “Just the fact that they are interested says good things about women’s boxing.”
In many categories, the WBC ratings resemble those of the WIBA and the California-based International Female Boxers Association for May.
Laila Ali is at or near the top of the list for both female sanctioning bodies as a light heavyweight or super middleweight.
Vonda Ward and Martha Salazar are at the top of the heavyweight division for both the IFBA and WIBA. The WBC ranks Salazar as its No. 1 contender, followed by Ward. Monica McGowan is third on all three.
Notable differences include the WBC’s first champion, Nava, who is listed as the No. 3 bantamweight contender by WIBA and the No. 8 super bantamweight by IFBA.
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