Key Takeaways

• Claressa Shields, Katie Taylor, and Amanda Serrano helped elevate women’s boxing to global main events and undisputed title status.
• Christy Martin and Laila Ali brought women’s boxing into the mainstream during a time when it lacked visibility.
• Heather Hardy and Seniesa Estrada used their careers to advocate for equity and highlight overlooked divisions in the sport.

From small club shows and Toughwoman tournaments to sold-out arenas and streaming-era super fights, women’s boxing has gone from novelty to global draw. Along the way, a handful of fighters didn’t just win belts. They forced TV networks, promoters, and fans to rethink what the sport could look like at the highest level.

Some opened doors simply by insisting on a place on the card. Others turned Olympic breakthroughs into professional empires, or dragged entire weight classes into the undisputed-title era. Taken together, these champions helped flip the narrative from “women’s bouts as curiosities” to “must-see main events” that can anchor pay-per-views, fill Madison Square Garden, and headline all-women shows worldwide.

This list spotlights 10 professional women boxers whose accomplishments and cultural impact truly shook up the game, from trailblazing pioneers to multi-division rulers. All of them helped to redefine what greatness looks like.

1. Claressa Shields

Claressa Shields is the only boxer, male or female, to become an undisputed world champion in three weight classes in the four-belt era, adding a heavyweight sweep in 2025 to previous undisputed reigns at middleweight and light-middleweight. She also won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 2012 and 2016 (the first American to do so in boxing), then headlined the U.K.’s first all-women card in her undisputed win over Savannah Marshall. You can check out a dramatization of her life and early career via The Fire Inside.

2. Laila Ali

In under a decade’s time, Laila Ali compiled a perfect 24-0 (21 KOs) record, capturing multiple world titles at super middleweight and light heavyweight. As Muhammad Ali’s daughter, she faced intense scrutiny, yet became a star attraction in her own right, headlining major cards and drawing mainstream coverage that helped keep women’s boxing visible long before the subsequent boom.

3. Christy Martin

Nicknamed “The Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Christy Martin was the face of women’s boxing in the ‘90s, building a 49-7-3 record and holding the WBC female super welterweight title. Promoted by Don King, she was the first woman he signed and fought on Mike Tyson undercards, bringing women’s bouts to massive pay-per-view audiences and even landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Sydney Sweeney helped bring her story to a wider audience in a big-screen biopic.

4. Cecilia Brækhus

Norway’s Cecilia Brækhus became the first woman to hold the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO titles simultaneously, ruling as undisputed welterweight champion for years and defending that crown repeatedly. Her dominance, including a lengthy unbeaten streak that stretched over a decade, set a template for female fighters chasing undisputed status and helped normalize women headlining major shows in Europe and on U.S. premium cable.

5. Ann Wolfe

Ann Wolfe, often cited as one of the most devastating punchers in women’s boxing, held world titles in three weight classes at the same time. Her 2004 one-punch knockout of previously unbeaten, 6'6" champion Vonda Ward in a light heavyweight title fight remains one of the sport’s most replayed finishes, reinforcing that women’s bouts can deliver the same highlight-reel drama as any men’s matchup.

6. Katie Taylor

An Olympic lightweight gold medalist at London 2012, Katie Taylor was central to getting women’s boxing into the Games. She then turned pro to become undisputed lightweight champion and later a two-division undisputed titlist. Her first fight with Amanda Serrano in 2022 made history as the first women’s bout to headline Madison Square Garden and is widely credited with proving that women’s boxing can anchor marquee New York and global events.

7. Amanda Serrano

Amanda Serrano won recognized world titles in seven weight classes, a record for women’s boxing, and was a unified and undisputed champion at featherweight. Her all-action style and willingness to move up and down divisions made her a natural dance partner for superfights, including the Taylor clash at MSG and a series of high-profile events promoted through crossover platforms that expanded the sport’s audience.

8. Savannah Marshall

Savannah Marshall became the first British woman to win an amateur world title in 2012 and remains the only boxer ever to defeat Claressa Shields in the ring, handing her an amateur loss at that same World Championships. As a professional, she captured the WBO middleweight belt and later became undisputed super-middleweight champion, then headlined major U.K. shows — including the historic all-women card against Shields that drew global attention.

9. Seniesa Estrada

Seniesa “Super Bad” Estrada holds the record for fastest knockout in women’s boxing, stopping Miranda Adkins in seven seconds in 2020. She went on to become undisputed minimumweight champion in 2024 after previously claiming titles at mini flyweight and light flyweight, retiring undefeated at 26-0. Her speed, technical polish, and aggressive matchmaking helped bring lighter women’s divisions more shine.

10. Heather Hardy

Brooklyn’s Heather “The Heat” Hardy emerged from Gleason’s Gym to win the WBO featherweight title in 2018, after earlier success at super bantamweight. She fought on the first televised women’s boxing bout in nearly two decades, became the first woman to box at Barclays Center, and later crossed into Bellator MMA. Beyond her resume, Hardy has been outspoken about pay, safety, and visibility for women fighters, turning her career (and even a health-related lawsuit) into a broader fight for systemic change in combat sports.