Review of "The Promise of Women's Boxing"

With the Olympics now in full swing, I always watch some of the boxing matches, both men and since 2012, the women as well.  This is a book that gives some much-deserved recognition to female boxer.  Here is my review of Malissa Smith's recent book on the sport.  

Title/Author:

“The Promise of Women’s Boxing: A Momentous New Era for the Sweet Science” by Malissa Smith

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: While the sport of boxing has recently seen a downturn in popularity, mainly due to the rise of other combat sports such as mixed martial arts, it should be noted that women’s boxing has defied that pattern and has actually gained in popularity and participation.  The history of female boxing is captured in this well-researched book by Marlissa Smith.

Smith is known as one of the most knowledgeable journalists for women’s boxing and both her writing and her passion shows quite prominently in the book.  She covers the history of the sport, from the early days when women couldn’t get approval from state licensing boards to the current popularity and Olympic participation it currently enjoys.  I mention the Olympics because Smith uses that acceptance as the most crucial time for the acceptance of women’s boxing – when it became an Olympic sport for the 2012 London Summer Games.

One of the medal winners from those Games, Clarissa Shields (the current heavyweight champion), wrote the forward for the book and is one of the many boxers Smith prominently features in the book.  Of course, there is Layla Ali, whose famous father helped her with name recognition and therefore piqued the interest of fans when she would fight.  Then there are some more well known champions from the sport such as Christy Martin, Katie Taylor and Cecelia Braekhus who are all prominently mentioned in the book.  

While it is great that Smith tells the stories of many of these boxers who trained and fought hard for little pay and recognition, that she did this for so many boxers, especially in the early part of the book, it was hard to keep track of them or to get a good sense of what was happening during that era of the sport.  While it is perfectly understandable that Smith wanted to ensure these athletes got the recognition for their contributions to the sport, I personally found it hard to keep track of them all.

Once the aforementioned 2012 Olympics were discussed in the book, it was both easier to read and follow and for me, more enjoyable.  I thought Smith did a fantastic job of writing about championship fights and chronicling the progress of women’s boxing.  This included when the sport finally was recognized with inductees into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2021 – a year after a special, separate Hall was started. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book on women’s boxing by a renowned expert on the sport and it is only right that these hard-working women get the recognition and publicity they deserve.

I wish to thank the publisher for providing a review copy of the book.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: The Promise of Women's Boxing: A Momentous New Era for the Sweet Science: Smith, Malissa, Shields, Claressa: 9781538177716: Amazon.com: Books