When we discussed the Claressa Shields biopic “The Fire Inside” on the show, we realized that neither of us could really remember the reaction to women’s boxing being added to the Olympic program for London 2012. What’s the story behind the decision to add this event to the Olympic program, and what did fans think at the time? Let’s delve into the history!
Women in boxing and in the Olympics
Women’s amateur boxing had its first sanctioned fight in 1988. An amateur world championships would take longer—the first wouldn’t be until 2001.
Needless to say, Olympic glory would take longer. Even though women’s sports were being added to the Olympic program, boxing would be the last sport to not have a women’s component at the Summer Olympics.
The Olympics has a long history with sexism. The first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896 did not include any women’s events. Women didn’t even make up 10% of the athletes until Helsinki 1952.
Montreal 1976 provided a big boost to women’s inclusion when it added women’s basketball as an event. This brought women’s participation rates to nearly 21%.
A bigger push for women’s inclusion came in the 1990s, as the International Olympic Committee mandated in 1991 that all new sports had to have both a men’s and women’s component. The IOC created working groups and other policies to actively boost women’s inclusion in the Games.
At London 2012, women made up 44.2% of athletes at the Games. Boxing was one of the sports that contributed to women’s inclusion.
When women’s boxing was added to the Olympic program
The IOC announces additions to an Olympics’ sport program several years before a Games in order to allow time for qualifications. In August 2009, the IOC Executive Board voted to add women’s boxing to the sports program for London 2012.
At London 2012, 36 women would be able to box in three weight categories. To make the room for the women in the athletes’ quota, the men’s program was adjusted, dropping from 11 weight classes to 10.
Initial reaction to the decision
When the IOC announced in 2009 that women’s events would be added to the Olympic program in 2012, many men in the boxing world, unsurprisingly, were not happy. “Deep down I think women shouldn’t fight,” said Athens silver medalist Amir Khan.
“Men see it as a sideshow and women hate it. It has no future,” said Bob Arum, a major boxing promoter.
The head coach of Cuba’s boxing team said women were “made for beauty and not to take blows around the head.”
The sport’s governing body, the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA, now the International Boxing Association) did not make matters any better when it encouraged women to wear skirts in the ring. According to Sports Illustrated, the AIBA took this tactic because fans and boxing officials “claimed they couldn’t tell women from men, particularly on television, because fighters wear the same protective headgear.”
Reaction to women’s boxing at London 2012
When the competition actually got underway at London 2012, fans loved it. Headlines screamed “Women Boxers Knock Men Out of Olympics Spotlight,” and “Women’s Boxing a Big Hit in Olympics Debut.”
Sold out crowds watched Great Britain’s Nicola Adams, Ireland’s Katie Taylor, and American Claressa Shields claim gold in their respective weight classes. Boxing experts applauded the evenly-matched bouts and high level of boxing skill.
Then IOC vice-president Nawal El Moutawakel described the tournament as “very skillful and a wonderful show.”
Then-IOC President Jacques Rogge celebrated, saying, “There was a lot of criticism of the level of women’s boxing…we have been vindicated that it was a good decision and it’s only the beginning.”
Shields was one of the bright spots in a dismal Team USA outing. Typically one of the stronger countries in the sport, the US only brought home two boxing medals that Games, both of them won by women (Marlen Esparza won a bronze).
What happened to the first female boxing gold medalists?
Adams, the first woman to earn a gold medal in Olympic boxing history, repeated as Olympic champion in 2016. She was awarded an MBE and OBE, became a TV personality, and appeared in commercials for Aldi and British Airways. In November 2012, the Independent recognized Adams as the most influential LGBT person in Britain.
Taylor became a hero in her native Ireland, landing sponsorship deals with Toyota, KPMG and Adidas, inspiring plenty of Irish girls (including 2024 gold medalist Kellie Harrington) to follow her into the ring.
What happened to Shields? The aftermath of her first Olympic Games was tough, and Shields discovered that winning a gold medal doesn’t automatically guarantee an abundance of financial opportunities. The Fire Inside tells that complicated story. Be sure to check out our episode about the movie and Claressa’s story.
Shields did continue boxing and won gold at Rio 2016, the first US boxer, male or female, to repeat gold in boxing.
Women’s boxing at Paris 2024
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, women made progress in terms of inclusion. These Games were touted as a gender-equal games, with equal numbers of men and women participating for the first time (a topic we discussed with Dr. Michelle K. Donnelly).
The number women involved in boxing at the Games had grown—at Paris boxing saw 122 female competitors, just two fewer than the men, even though women competed in one fewer weight classes. The sport has also spread across the globe. Women from 55 countries entered the Olympic ring.
What started with a bang in London 2012 has only grown in the years since.
—Alison Brown & Jill Jaracz
Photo credit: Amazon MGM Studios