TOP 12 POUND-FOR-POUND WOMEN
Honoring the best female fighters in the world and the remarkable stories behind their greatness.
Super Featherweight
16-1-0
Score: 0.775
- Boxing is in her blood. Her grandfather, grandmother, father, uncles, cousins, and an aunt all fought or trained. Her grandfather dreamed someone in the family would become a world champion, and Alycia fulfilled that dream.
- Lived on a friend's couch in Toledo for nearly a year, borrowing cars to get to work and training, while pursuing her boxing career.
- Became undisputed super featherweight champion in 2023, holding the WBC, WBO, IBF, WBA, IBO, and Ring magazine titles simultaneously.
Super Lightweight
25-1-0
Score: 0.754
- Had to disguise herself as a boy to get fights. Women's boxing was prohibited in Ireland when she started, so she entered competitions as 'K Taylor,' tucking her hair inside her headgear.
- Won gold at the 2012 Olympics, the very first year women's boxing was included. She also won five consecutive World Championship golds and six European Championship golds.
- Her fight against Amanda Serrano in April 2022 was the first women's boxing match to headline Madison Square Garden, generating $1.45 million in ticket revenue.
Featherweight
48-4-1
Score: 0.729
- Holds the Guinness World Record for most boxing world championships won in different weight classes by a female: 9 world titles across 7 divisions, a feat matched only by Manny Pacquiao.
- She and her sister Cindy became the first sisters to simultaneously hold world titles from major sanctioning bodies.
- Named WBAN Fighter of the Year five times (2016, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024), more than any other female boxer.
Super Lightweight
21-1-0
Score: 0.709
- Credits Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Jean-Claude Van Damme movies for sparking her love of combat sports. She started kickboxing at age 10 before switching to boxing at 18.
- Became England's first-ever female undisputed professional boxing champion by unifying all four major belts at super lightweight.
- Vacated her WBC super lightweight title in October 2025 as a protest for equality, stating her decision was about female boxers not receiving the same opportunities and respect as men.
Super Featherweight
50-3-0
Score: 0.708
- Works full-time as a Belgian federal railway policewoman while competing at world championship level. She used 55 days of vacation time to prepare for her fight against Katie Taylor.
- Self-promoted her own fight shows and sold tickets independently to build her career, since Belgium offered virtually no infrastructure for female professional boxers.
- Came from a farming family and started in judo, switching to boxing only after a back injury ended her judo career. Named Belgian Sportswoman of the Year in 2015.
Welterweight
18-0-0
Score: 0.707
- Raised in poverty in Flint, Michigan during its water crisis, with her father incarcerated and her mother struggling with addiction. She became the first member of her family to graduate high school.
- Won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 2012 and 2016, the first American boxer (male or female) to win consecutive Olympic golds.
- The only female boxer in history to hold all four major world titles in three different weight classes. Her life story was made into the biopic 'The Fire Inside.'
Super Featherweight
11-1-0
Score: 0.685
- A rapid riser who only turned professional in May 2022 and was named 2025 Women's Fighter of the Year by both BoxingScene and The Sporting News.
- Defeated previously unbeaten IBF lightweight champion Beatriz Ferreira by TKO in December 2025, one of the biggest upsets in recent women's boxing.
- Won her last four fights by stoppage, establishing herself as one of the highest-profile Turkish boxers internationally after signing with Matchroom Boxing.
Super Lightweight
20-0-0
Score: 0.675
- Made history as the first Belgian female boxer to qualify for the Olympic Games, competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics after winning silver at the 2023 European Games.
- Remarkably switched from professional to amateur boxing late in her career to chase her Olympic dream.
- Became the first Belgian woman to win a bout at a World Boxing Championships in September 2025. She is undefeated across 20 professional fights.
Lightweight
11-0-1
Score: 0.672
- Scored one of the most spectacular knockouts in women's boxing, winning the South American lightweight title by knocking out previously undefeated Johen Paola Gonzalez in just 10 seconds.
- Her boxing career is a family operation: her husband Federico Diaz serves as her trainer and her father Hector is part of her corner team.
- Has worked toward her world title dream for nine years, representing Argentina on the world stage in her challenge for the IBF lightweight championship.
Super Lightweight
12-0-0
Score: 0.666
- The very first boxer signed by Claressa Shields' T-Rex Promotions. The two have been best friends since they were teammates on Team USA at the 2013 Youth World Championships.
- Captured the UBO super lightweight title at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, a symbolically meaningful venue.
- Compiled a 36-14 amateur record with five national championships and a bronze at the Youth World Championships before turning pro, winning her debut by first-round knockout.
Super Welterweight
38-2-1
Score: 0.656
- Professional boxing was literally illegal in her home country. Norway banned pro boxing in 1981, so she fought abroad for the first nine years of her career. She was instrumental in getting the ban overturned in 2014.
- The first woman in boxing history to hold all four major world titles simultaneously, achieving undisputed welterweight status in 2014. She matched Joe Louis' record of 25 consecutive title defenses.
- Born in Cartagena, Colombia and adopted at age 2 by Norwegian parents. Guinness recognized her with three world records in 2018.
Featherweight
15-1-0
Score: 0.635
- Fights in honor of two brothers she never met. Her older brother Jamie won a Commonwealth Games bronze in 1990 and competed at the 1992 Olympics. In 1994, Jamie (22) and his brother Gavin (10) were killed in a car accident on their way to training.
- Won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the same weight class as her late brother Jamie, dedicating the medal to both brothers.
- Compiled a remarkable 107-32 amateur record before turning professional in 2022. She trains at the Jamie Nicolson Memorial Gym, named after her brother.