Who are the top pound-for-pound female fighters in the world right now?
Just a few years ago, women's boxing was unheard of and not very received by spectators, but now the pioneers are headlining sold-out shows and are among the sporting stars in the world. It has been said that Katie Taylor is closest thing to Irish royalty, and Claressa Shields and Cecilia Braekhus are considered boxing legends, whilst their incredible careers continue still.
There's currently three undisputed world champions in this list, with more unified titlists chasing the leaders of the pack, and 2022 is already set for some big undisputed showdowns.
To end 2021, BBN have compiled their list of Women's pound-for-pound top 10.
1. Katie Taylor (20-0, 6KOs)
It has to be said that undefeated undisputed lightweight queen Katie Taylor should be No.1 on everyone's list.
The 35-year-old Irish superstar made three defences of her undisputed status this year against Firuza Sharipova in December, preceded by Jennifer Han in September, and then there was the very close contest with Natasha Jonas in May, which only had a single point in it on two of the three judges' cards.
In 2022, the Olympic gold medallist is heading straight into a showdown fellow P4P fighter Amanda Serrano, which will be a career-defining fight for each lady.
2. Amanda Serrano (42-1-1, 30KOs)
Heavy-handed Puerto Rican Amanda Serrano is 'The Real Deal', as her alias suggests.
Just like her upcoming ring rival, the 33-year-old triumphed in three fights in 2021, with authoritative wins over Yamileth Mercado and Miriam Gutierrez on Jake Paul undercards, which both followed on from a ninth-round KO victory in March this year.
She is the reigning WBC, WBO and IBO World Female featherweight champion, and a clash with the aforementioned Taylor will surely be the biggest fight in the New Year.
3. Claressa Shields (11-0, 2KOs)
Despite her recent two-fight dabble in MMA (1-1), she is still active in boxing having defended her undisputed wuper-welterweight crown to Marie DiClaire in March, with a complete shutout on all three scorecards, and a fight date in the diary for 2022 on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr. vs Liam Williams in Cardiff.
Her UK debut is seemingly designed to build a fight between her and old foe Savannah Marshall, who inflicted the only defeat on the American ever, so there is a lot to prove for both boxers in this potential 2022 showdown.
4. Jessica McCaskill (11-2, 4KOs)
The Chicago 'CasKILLA' gate-crashed the rankings last year with a brilliant win over boxing's 'First Lady' Cecilia Braekhus, which she won via mixed decision, but solidified her position as one of the world’s best fighters by repeating the result resoundingly in March this year via UD.
The American then halted Kandi Wyatt on the Haney vs. Diaz undercard, cementing her status as a dominant undisputed welterweight champion.
5. Seniesa Estrada (22-0, 9KOs)
After finishing 2020 with the fastest knockout in female boxing history, 'Super Bad' Siniesta won her first world title at minimumweight (WBA) to kick off 2021, then won a second at light-flyweight in July to become a two-weight world champion within a matter of months, then ended the year with a defence of her WBA minimumweight strap, just a few days ago.
Despite her boxing career beginning 10 years ago, the LA lady is finally making waves and hopefully she will continue to stun in 2022.
6. Mikaela Mayer (16-0, 5KOs)
After securing her first world championship last year by defeating Ewa Brodnicka, Mikaela Mayer defended the belt in June this year, then added the IBF bauble with a win over Maïva Hamadouche in November to become a unified world champion, both victories coming via unanimous decision.
2022 could potentially see a unification clash with fellow compatriot Alycia Baumgardner, who holds the WBC and IBO belts.
7. Chantelle Cameron (15-0, 8KOs)
After her earning mandatory status in two seperate weights, Northampton's Chantelle Cameron became a world champion at super-featherweight (WBC) in 202 and has defended the green and gold bauble twice in 2021. The 30-year-old stopped Melissa Hernandez in five rounds in her maiden defence in May, then she entered into a four-woman tournament designed to crown the first ever undisputed super-lightweight queen, and triumped emphatically over IBF titlist Mary McGee to become a unified super-lightweight champion. This unanimous decision victory sets up an undisputed showdown with WBA, WBO, IBO titleholder Kali Reis in 2022, which could see yet another undisputed female champion.
8. Savannah Marshall (11-0, 9KOs)
Fast-rising middleweight Marshall made two defences of the WBO middleweight belt she won against Scot Hannah Rankin in 2020. In April, she KO'd Maria Lindberg in three, then went even better in October with a quicker second-round stoppage over Lolita Muzeya.
Some may question how she can make this elite list after just 11 bouts and only one world title, with so many unified and undisputed champs occupying this catalogue, but her meteoric rise and devastating trail, with the determination to rematch with Claressa Shields is the reason why she dserves her top 10 spot.
9. Alycia Baumgardner (11-1, 7KOs)
The newest female world champion 'The Bomb' Baumgardner followed a four-fight win streak by stunning Terri Harper, who she knocked out on her feet, to rip away the Brit's WBC and IBF super-featherweight titles. The Ohio fighter is definitely one to watch going forward. Find out more about the unified world champion here: Things you didn't know about Alycia Baumgardner
10. Delfine Persoon
Despite being best known for her brace of defeats to rival Katie Taylor, the former long-reigning WBC lightweight titlist bounced back with two fine wins in 2022, over Elena Gradinar to pick up the IBO Inter-Continental super-featherweight title, formerly held by the aforementioned Cameron, as well as fourth-round stoppage against Beatriz Aquilar in October. Next year will likely see the Belgian challenging world champions Mikaela Mayer, Alycia Baumgardner, Hyun Mi Choi.
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