Proof that women's boxing may have a real future

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

 

[CatchnShoot]

Cute and strange at the same time 10/10

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Well, someone recently beat me to it a few weeks ago. I didn't know her name when I made this thread or I would've just posted in theirs --> http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/the-next-big-thing-9yr-old-kira-pink-panther-makogonenko.3619675/

Kira “Pink Panther” Makogonenko, currently a Ukrainian national champion @ 8-0 as an Amateur boxer, allegedly. She's 9 and trained by her father, Art. Muscle Madness picked up the video in the OP and did a highlight, USA Today Sports' For The W!N column did as well and other media here in the US along with FOX Sports Asia.

Here's a video that shows her working on her technique, fundamentals, balance, training in general (a relatively unique training program similar to Lomachenko's) and sparring clips against some older boys she was seemingly getting the better of. Or, the footage was cherry picked. Either way, it's worth checking out. She can switch (to southpaw) and fight well on the back foot, has check hooks (pivot hooks) for days from both stances and a nice straight right. Floyd was definitely an influence on her from what I've seen. Enjoy!

 

[Marc A]

So much talent !! I hope she is guided correctly to avoid burnout and mismanagement, it will be pretty cool
To say hey we saw her grow up to be a champion

I might change my stance of not watching females fight

Ty for the post @Kovalev's "Man Bag"

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

So much talent !! I hope she is guided correctly to avoid burnout and mismanagement, it will be pretty cool
To say hey we saw her grow up to be a champion

I might change my stance of not watching females fight

Ty for the post @Kovalev's "Man Bag"

Dana White said that there would never be women fighting in the UFC. Even after Rousey's destruction (twice) men and women still watch the top contenders and champions. Some of them are quite popular or on the rise; Paige VanZant, Cris Cyborg, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Michelle Waterson, Miesha Tate before she retired, Holly Holm, Claudia Gadelha, Alexa Grasso, Amanda Nunes, Valentina Shevchenko et al. Originally it was Gina Carano and Cyborg as the most popular women's MMA fighters.

Frank Warren signed dual Olympic Champion & Amateur World Champion Nicola Adams, she trains under Virgil Hunter. Warren changed his tune entirely after he "saw the light", as the Baldfather (Dana) did when he saw Rousey's ability to armbar chicks.

Women should have the same opportunities as we have as men. If it isn't your cup of tea then cool, you don't have to tune in. I tune in because I follow some of the women in MMA and now in professional boxing. Particuarly on nights when there's nothing else to watch, to be honest. The talent pool is still developing for women in both sports so it'll only get better and potentially become more popular.

 

[JayE]

It's certainly going to increase in prominence, if for no other reason that there is now a truly international and burgeoning amateur structure. I'm not someone who has ever paid much attention to women's boxing or WMMA, for that matter, but as the sport matures and perhaps gains a greater talent pool (one might question how considerable the talent pool for women's fighting in any respect will ever be, but only time will tell), then I may gain interest.

The girl in the video certainly does appear to be talented, and her father (I assume that's her father) does certainly seem to have a reasonable idea of what he's doing. She's already appears a fair bit more competent than the majority of strikers I've ever seen in WMMA. Of course, she is very young and for every child phenom who pans out, there are many who we never really much of anything from.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

It's certainly going to increase in prominence, if for no other reason that there is now a truly international and burgeoning amateur structure. I'm not someone who has ever paid much attention to women's boxing or WMMA, for that matter, but as the sport matures and perhaps gains a greater talent pool (one might question how considerable the talent pool for women's fighting in any respect will ever be, but only time will tell), then I may gain interest.

The girl in the video certainly does appear to be talented, and her father (I assume that's her father) does certainly seem to have a reasonable idea of what he's doing. She's already appears a fair bit more competent than the majority of strikers I've ever seen in WMMA. Of course, she is very young and for every child phenom who pans out, there are many who we never really much of anything from.

I think so too. If we just look at the most prominent senior-level Amateur boxing tournaments in the world that women can compete in today they have the World Championships (since 2001, 9 have been held so far) to participate in as well as the Olympic Games since 2012. That should help to develop the talent pool more so there's more depth in women's boxing not just on the Amateur circuit but to also translate (to some degree) in bridging the gap to the pros.

I see a glimmer of hope here with children starting early like this girl. I think that it'd be beneficial to the sport of boxing as a whole to have a respectable level of talent in women's boxing in the pros. It may take 10 or 15 years but I think that it'll eventually happen and will be seen as a welcomed addition to boxing once we start consistently seeing more skilled female boxers as Amateurs having success as Pros. Whether this girl turns out to be what she's determined (at this point in time) to be or not is anyone's guess. Puberty could change all of that or getting burnt out on it all. I see a whole lot of dedication here to her craft though so I'm reasonably optimistic.

 

[BluntTrauma21]

I'm with Marc, I never cared much for women fighting, not b/c they're female just b/c they aren't very good compared to men. But looks like we have a nice future here if this becomes a usual hobby for young tomboy type girls like Kira here. I honestly feel like girls might be easier to teach than boys, b/c when me and my brothers were that age we had no discipline, we just wanted to destroy shit at that age. Girls seem to actually learn technique better than boys, at that particular age at least.

 

[Yourstepdad]

Lucia Rijker

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Lucia Rijker

I loved watching her. Any bad ass chick that gets into the ring and fights a man has my total respect. Let's not forget about Ann Wolfe, either. Even Rogan knows what's up. If I had to pick one though, it'd probably be...

Playing poker with Mia St. John.

 

[Yourstepdad]

I loved watching her. Any bad ass chick that gets into the ring and fights a man has my total respect. Let's not forget about Ann Wolf, either. Even Rogan knows what's up. If I had to pick one though, it'd probably be...

Playing poker with Mia St. John.

Yeah, Lucia's psycho trainer hadn't told her beforehand she was going to be fighting a man (let alone australasian champ at that time). She found out right before the match, and still stepped in. Took the loss like a champ

There hasn't been a women's champ like Lucia in recent days imo. She was also national judo champ as a kid btw, imagine her in mma

Don't know much about Ann Wolfe tbh, except 1 crazy mfcking knockout vs a tall ass chick

I love Mia dammit. But not for her boxing

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Yeah, Lucia's psycho trainer hadn't told her beforehand she was going to be fighting a man (let alone australasian champ at that time). She found out right before the match, and still stepped in. Took the loss like a champ

There hasn't been a women's champ like Lucia in recent days imo. She was also national judo champ as a kid btw, imagine her in mma

Don't know much about Ann Wolfe tbh, except 1 crazy mfcking knockout vs a tall ass chick

I love Mia dammit. But not for her boxing

Yeah, that's why I posted Mia. It wasn't just because of her success in boxing.

 

[ALE]

poor male kids, they will discover something new at school