- Cecilia Braekhus – 36-0 – 9 KOS – 38 years old
The “First Lady” of boxing really doesn’t get enough respect. With her most recent victory against Victoria Bustos in Monaco, she has successfully defended her titles twenty five times! For those history aficionados, that’s the same amount of times Joe Louis defended his heavyweight titles, and let’s not pretend Joe didn’t slip some bums in there, so PUT SOME RESPEK ON THIS WOMAN’S NAME.
2. Claressa Shields – 10-0 – 2 KOS – 24 years old
I had no idea Claressa was this young until I checked her boxrec. She already has two gold medals, is Undisputed at Middleweight, and holds titles in Super Middleweight and Jr Middleweight. She is the fastest fighter in history to hold belts in three divisions (10 fights). She completely dismantled Ivana Habazin on Jan. 10 for the Junior Middleweight Title. It doesn’t seem long until Shields is #1 on this list.
3. Amanda Serrano 37-1-1 – 27 KOS – 31 years old
This is where the list is up for some debate. Serrano does have a lost, but let’s be real, so does Katie Taylor. Serrano has power, and was Female Boxer of the year in 2016 and 2018. She also holds the Guiness World Record for most titles held by a female boxer, with 9 major world titles over 7 weight classes. She easily out-pointed an over-matched Heather Hardy in her last fight, and looks nearly unstoppable.
4. Katie Taylor – 15-0 – 6 KOS – 33 yrs old
I debated a lot over this one, but in the end it’s tough to rate many above Katie Taylor. Even though many agree Delfine Persoon was robbed in their June 1st match, until a rematch takes place, Katie Taylor will receive the benefit of the doubt. She has held titles in Lightweight and Superlight, and most recently outpointed Christina Linardatou.
5. Delfine Persoon – 44-2-0 – 18 KOS – 34 years old
Another difficult choice, but if Katie Taylor is #4A, Persoon is #4B. Losing to Taylor by Majority Decision must have been a difficult pill to swallow, especially as Persoon confounded and frustrated Taylor all night with her awkward and aggressive style. For Taylor to be ranked #1 on some pound for pound lists, and Persoon to have given her so much trouble, it only makes sense to have them closely ranked, until the rematch can clear things up.
6. Yesica Yolanda Bopp – 36-1-0 – 16 KOS – 35 years old
Having experienced her only loss in 2013, Bopp has been on a tear in the Light Flyweight division, defending her title 12 times. Having never fought in the United States, Bopp may be a little past her prime to get that primetime exposure but she nonetheless remains a force in Light Flyweight.
7. Christina Hammer 24-1-0 – 11 KOS – 29 years old
Having only one loss on her record, one could make the argument for a high placement for the Hammer. It is the nature of that one loss that defines her placement though, with Claressa Shields completely dismantling her. Though she lasted 10 rounds, she’d be lucky if she won two, and had an almost impossible time getting through Shield’s defense. It’s possible she can rebuild herself, but with Shields in control of the division, not really sure where she can go. I thought Shields might have retired her but her boxrec says she fights on Feb 8 2020.
8. Daniela Romina Bermudez – 27-3-3 – 30 years old
Suffering a somewhat similar fate to Bopp, Bermudez is a world title holder that doesn’t get much North American exposure. Her record is also a bit misleading as two of her three losses were to Bopp, much earlier in her career. She is number four on boxrec’s p4p women’s list due to the quality of her opponents.
9. Heather Hardy – 22-1-0 – 4 KOS – 37 years old
A major name in combat sports, the MMA and Boxing veteran won the vacant WBO World Feather title in October of 2018, only to have it taken by Amanda Serrano a year later. Hardy overcame a crushing first few rounds to survive the fight, but it honestly could have been stopped due to the beating she was taking. It’s not known how much the 37 year old has left in the tank, but it’s possible she could come into title contention again.
10. Marie-Eve Dicaire – 17-0-0 – 0KOS – 33 years old
There might be a little home cooking on this one, as she is the only Canadian on the list, but one could argue Dicaire suffers the same fate as the Argentians, receiving no exposure in the United States, and having never fought a fight outside of Quebec. That being said, she has defended her IBF light middleweight title three times, and remains undefeated, so we’ll give her a little Canadian favouritism and put her at #10.