Wikipedia

Cecilia Brækhus

Cecilia Carmen Linda Brækhus (born 28 September, 1981) is a Norwegian professional boxer and former kickboxer. She reigned as the undisputed female welterweight boxing champion from 2014 to 2020, and is the first woman in any weight class to hold the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles simultaneously. Brækhus is also one of only 11 boxers in history, female or male, to hold all four major world titles simultaneously.[nb 1] She also held the IBO title from 2016 to 2020.

Cecilia Brækhus
Brækhus modelling at the Oslo Fashion Show, 2010
Born (1981-09-28) 28 September 1981 (age 42)
Cartagena, Colombia
NationalityNorwegian
Other namesThe First Lady
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights39
Wins37
Wins by KO9
Losses2
Draws1
Medal record
Women's amateur boxing
Representing  Norway
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2005 Podolsk Light-welterweight
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Tønsberg Light-welterweight
Silver medal – second place 2004 Riccione Light-welterweight

In 2017, the Boxing Writers Association of America named Brækhus their inaugural Female Fighter of the Year.[1] Guinness World Records awarded her with three recognitions in 2018: the Longest Reigning Female Boxing Champion, the Longest Reign as a Four-Belt Undisputed Boxing Champion, and the Most Bouts Undefeated by a Female World Champion Boxer.[2] Brækhus held the WBC and WBA titles for 11 years and 154 days between 14 March 2009 and 15 August 2020.[3] As of December 2023, she is ranked as the world's best active female super welterweight by BoxRec and the fifth best active female junior middleweight by The Ring.[4][5]

Early life edit

Born in Cartagena, Colombia, Brækhus was adopted as a two-year-old by Norwegian parents and raised in Sandviken, Bergen.[6] She started kickboxing at the age of fourteen and soon began competing in amateur boxing competitions, achieving an amateur record of 75–5 before turning professional.[7]

Kickboxing career (semi-contact) edit

Amateur boxing career edit

Brækhus fought 80 matches and won 75 of them.

Professional boxing career edit

In November 2007, Brækhus signed a pro contract with German promoter Wilfried Sauerland, who announced his intention of making her the first Norwegian female World Champion.[6] Her first fight was against Croatian boxer Ksenija Koprek on 20 January, 2007.[10] On 14 March, 2009, she became the WBC World Champion in welterweight against Danish boxer Vinni Skovgaard and also claimed the vacant WBA female welterweight title.[11] Brækhus successfully defended her titles on later that year on 30 May against Amy Yuratovac in Helsinki, Finland, and on 12 September, 2009, against Lucia Morelli in Herning, Denmark.

 
Brækhus after defending her titles against Jill Emery in 2011

Eight months later, on 15 May, 2010, Brækhus successfully defended her WBA and WBC titles against American boxer Victoria Cisneros in Herning, Denmark, while winning the WBO title. In a unanimous decision, the judges declared the fight for Brækhus, having won all 10 rounds.[12][13] On 30 October, 2010, Brækhus successfully defended her WBA, WBC and WBO titles in Rostock, Germany against Mikaela Laurén from Sweden, while winning the World Professional Boxing Federation (WPBF) title. Brækhus won by knockout in the 7th round.[14]

In 2010, Brækhus was voted the "Female Boxer of the Year" by German boxing magazine BoxSport. On 14 September, 2014, after defeating Croatian Ivana Habazin, Brækhus became the first Norwegian and the first woman to hold all major world championship belts in her weight division (welterweight) in boxing history.[15]

On 5 May, 2018, HBO broadcast its first women's bout, between Brækhus and Kali Reis, where Brækhus successfully defended her titles.[16][17]

Professional boxing record edit

40 fights 37 wins 2 losses
By knockout 9 0
By decision 28 2
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
40 Draw 37–2–1 Terri Harper MD 10 7 Oct 2023 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England For WBA and WBO female super welterweight titles
39 Win 37–2 Marisa Joana Portillo UD 6 17 Dec 2022 Commerce Casino, Commerce, California, U.S.
38 Loss 36–2 Jessica McCaskill UD 10 13 Mar 2021 American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas, U.S. For WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO, and inaugural The Ring female welterweight titles
37 Loss 36–1 Jessica McCaskill MD 10 15 Aug 2020 Downtown Streets, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. Lost WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
36 Win 36–0 Victoria Bustos UD 10 30 Nov 2019 Casino de Salle Medecin, Monte Carlo, Monaco Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
35 Win 35–0 Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes UD 10 8 Dec 2018 StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S. Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
34 Win 34–0 Inna Sagaydakovskaya UD 10 21 Jul 2018 Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
33 Win 33–0 Kali Reis UD 10 5 May 2018 StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S. Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
32 Win 32–0 Mikaela Laurén TKO 6 (10), 1:35 21 Oct 2017 Oslofjord Convention Center, Stokke, Norway Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
31 Win 31–0 Erica Farias UD 10 9 Jun 2017 Bergenhus Festning, Bergen, Norway Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
30 Win 30–0 Klara Svensson UD 10 24 Feb 2017 Spektrum, Oslo, Norway Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
29 Win 29–0 Anne Sophie Mathis TKO 2 (10), 1:05 1 Oct 2016 Spektrum, Oslo, Norway Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
28 Win 28–0 Chris Namús UD 10 27 Feb 2016 Gerry Weber Stadion, Halle, Germany Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO female welterweight titles;
Won vacant IBO female welterweight title
27 Win 27–0 Jennifer Retzke UD 10 29 Nov 2014 Falkoner Center, Frederiksberg, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO female welterweight titles
26 Win 26–0 Ivana Habazin UD 10 14 Sep 2014 TAP1, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles;
Won IBF female welterweight title
25 Win 25–0 Jessica Balogun UD 10 7 Jun 2014 Sport- und Kongresshalle, Schwerin, Germany Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
24 Win 24–0 Myriam Lamare UD 10 1 Feb 2014 Arena Nord, Frederikshavn, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
23 Win 23–0 Oxandia Castillo TKO 9 (10), 1:51 7 Sep 2013 Arena Nord, Frederikshavn, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
22 Win 22–0 Mia St. John TKO 3 (10), 1:38 13 Apr 2013 Arena Nord, Frederikshavn, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
21 Win 21–0 Anne Sophie Mathis UD 10 22 Sep 2012 Arena Nord, Frederikshavn, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
20 Win 20–0 Jessica Balogun UD 10 1 Jun 2012 MCH Kongrescenter, Herning, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
19 Win 19–0 Ku'ulei Kupihea TKO 10 (10), 0:57 3 Dec 2011 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
18 Win 18–0 Chevelle Hallback UD 10 7 May 2011 Koncerthuset, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
17 Win 17–0 Jill Emery UD 10 2 Apr 2011 MCH Kongrescenter, Herning, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
16 Win 16–0 Eva Bajic KO 3 (10), 0:27 20 Nov 2010 MCH Kongrescenter, Herning, Denmark Retained WBC and WBO female welterweight titles
15 Win 15–0 Mikaela Laurén TKO 7 (10), 0:40 30 Oct 2010 StadtHalle, Rostock, Germany Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
14 Win 14–0 Victoria Cisneros UD 10 15 May 2010 MCH Kongrescenter, Herning, Denmark Retained WBA and WBC female welterweight titles;
Won vacant WBO female welterweight title
13 Win 13–0 Lucia Morelli UD 10 12 Sep 2009 MCH Messecenter, Herning, Denmark Retained WBA and WBC female welterweight titles
12 Win 12–0 Amy Yuratovac UD 10 30 May 2009 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland Retained WBA and WBC female welterweight titles
11 Win 11–0 Vinni Skovgaard UD 10 14 Mar 2009 Sparkassen-Arena, Kiel, Germany Won vacant WBA and WBC female welterweight titles
10 Win 10–0 Borislava Goranova UD 8 25 Oct 2008 Weser-Ems Halle, Oldenburg, Germany
9 Win 9–0 Cimberly Harris UD 8 20 Sep 2008 Seidensticker Halle, Bielefeld, Germany
8 Win 8–0 Nicole Woods UD 6 21 Jun 2008 Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, US
7 Win 7–0 Adelita Irizarry UD 6 17 May 2008 Oberfrankenhalle, Bayreuth, Germany
6 Win 6–0 Tatjana Dieckmann UD 6 29 Mar 2008 Sparkassen-Arena, Kiel, Germany
5 Win 5–0 Wanda Pena Ozuna TKO 4 (4), 1:47 26 Jan 2008 Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany
4 Win 4–0 Borislava Goranova UD 6 23 Jun 2007 Stadthalle, Zwickau, Germany
3 Win 3–0 Olga Bojare UD 4 26 May 2007 Jako Arena, Bamberg, Germany
2 Win 2–0 Jana Latova KO 2 (4), 0:12 17 Feb 2007 Complexe sportif, Evere, Belgium
1 Win 1–0 Ksenija Koprek UD 4 20 Jan 2007 St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ along with Bernard Hopkins (2004–2005), Jermain Taylor (2005), Terence Crawford (2017), Oleksandr Usyk (2018–2019), Claressa Shields (2019–2020, 2021–), Katie Taylor (2019–), Jessica McCaskill (2020–), Josh Taylor (2021–), and Canelo Alvarez (2021–), Devin Haney (2022–)

References edit

  1. ^ "Cecilia Braekhus - BWAA Female Fighter of the Year". BoxingScene. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Undisputed champ Cecilia Braekhus honored by WBC in Kiev" Archived 2018-10-24 at the Wayback Machine. World Boxing News. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Longest reigning boxing world champion (female)". Guinness World Records. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  4. ^ "Female Box-pro Ratings". BoxRec. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  5. ^ "The Ring Women's Ratings". The Ring. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  6. ^ a b (in Norwegian) Profile/Blog Blog Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine at TV2blogg.no
  7. ^ "Cecilia Brækhus Awakening Profile". Awakeningfighters.com. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  8. ^ "WAKO official tournament results". Archived from the original on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2014-10-01.
  9. ^ 2002 King's trophy recipients Archived 2014-10-20 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ (in Norwegian) Nervøs, men selvsikker BA.no
  11. ^ Cecilia Braekhus new WBA 147 World Champion Archived 2010-12-02 at the Wayback Machine WBAnews.com
  12. ^ VG.no - Suverene Brækhus tok ny tittel
  13. ^ Dagbladet.no - Brækhus forsvarte mesterbeltene
  14. ^ Brækhus vant på knockout vg.no
  15. ^ Brækhus first woman to unify division Archived 2015-11-23 at the Wayback Machine The Foreigner
  16. ^ 🖉"Cecilia Braekhus outpoints game Kali Reis, remains undisputed welterweight champ". 6 May 2018.
  17. ^ 🖉Mahmood, Zahid (2 May 2018). "HBO's first televised female boxing match breaking 'the last barrier'". CNN.

External links edit

Sporting positions
Minor world boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Jennifer Retzke 		IBO female welterweight champion
27 February 2016 – 15 August 2020 		Succeeded by
Major world boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Holly Holm 		WBA female welterweight champion
14 March 2009 – 15 August 2020 		Succeeded by
Jessica McCaskill
WBC female welterweight champion
14 March 2009 – 15 August 2020
Vacant
Title last held by
Hanna Gabriel 		WBO female welterweight champion
15 May 2010 – 15 August 2020
Preceded by
Ivana Habazin
 IBF female welterweight champion
13 September 2014 – 15 August 2020
Vacant
Title last held by
Holly Holm 		Undisputed female
welterweight champion
13 September 2014 – 15 August 2020
Awards
Inaugural recipient BWAA Female Fighter of the Year
2017 		Next:
Claressa Shields
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