Although women have participated in boxing for almost as long as the sport has existed, female fights have been effectively outlawed for most of boxing's history until recently, with athletic commissioners refusing to sanction or issue licenses to women boxers, and most nations officially banning the sport. Reports of women entering the ring go back to the 18th century.
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Vijender Singh Beniwal is an Indian professional boxer and politician of Bharatiya Janata Party. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal. He also won bronze medals at the 2009 World Championships and the 2010 Commonwealth Games, as well as silver medals at the 2006 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, all in the middleweight division.
Artur Asilbekovich Beterbiev is a Russian and Canadian professional boxer. He has held the undisputed championship in the light-heavyweight division since October 2024, as well as the Ring magazine and International Boxing Organization (IBO) titles.
India has a history of sports dating back to the Vedic period, with Western sports having been imported during British rule. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport; it generates the highest television viewership, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) being the most-followed league in the country. Football has also gained popularity, with the Indian Super League (ISL) being the highest level of domestic football, and the national team winning multiple gold medals at the Asian and South Asian Games. Additional football accomplishments include India having reached the Groupstage of the 1960 Olympics, qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, and won the SAFF Championship. Other sports include kabaddi, badminton, tennis, and athletics, with kho-kho becoming the fourth-most viewed sport. India has also had success in field hockey, winning the World Cup and multiple medals in the Olympic Games. Sports such as golf, rugby, boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, motorsport, wrestling, and basketball are featured throughout the country.
Mangte Chungneijang "Mary" Kom is an Indian Olympic boxer, politician, and former Member of Rajya Sabha. She is the only woman to win the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times, the only female boxer to have won a medal in each one of the first seven World Championships, and the only boxer to win eight World Championship medals. Nicknamed Magnificent Mary, she was the only Indian female boxer to have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she competed in the flyweight (51 kg) category and won a bronze medal. She had also been ranked as the world's No. 1 female light-flyweight by the International Boxing Association (amateur) (AIBA). She became the first Indian female boxer to win a gold medal in the Asian Games in 2014 at Incheon, South Korea and is the first Indian female boxer to win gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She is also the only boxer to become Asian Amateur Boxing Champion for a record six times. Mary Kom won the 51kg gold in President's Cup in Indonesia.
Thokchom Nanao Singh is an Indian boxer from Khoijuman Maning Leikai village in Bishnupur district of Manipur. He trains at Pune-based Army Sports Institute and is supported by Olympic Gold Quest, a not-for-profit foundation to identify and support Indian athletes.
Master Chief Petty Officer Ngangom Dingko Singh was an Indian boxer who won the gold medal at 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok. He was from the North-eastern Indian state of Manipur. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2013.
In boxing, a weight class is a measurement weight range for boxers. The lower limit of a weight class is equal to the upper weight limit of the class below it. The top class, with no upper limit, is called heavyweight in professional boxing and super heavyweight in amateur boxing. A boxing match is usually scheduled for a fixed weight class, and each boxer's weight must not exceed the upper limit. Although professional boxers may fight above their weight class, an amateur boxer's weight must not fall below the lower limit. A nonstandard weight limit is called a catchweight.
Vikas Krishan Yadav is an Indian boxer from Bhiwani district in Haryana, the hub of some of India's best boxers. He won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian Games in the Lightweight category and a gold medal in 75 kg weight category at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He is one of the best boxers of India. He also boxed professionally.
Mahommedrasul Majidov is an Azerbaijani professional boxer. As an amateur he won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics and gold at the 2011, 2013 and 2017 World Championships, all in the super heavyweight division.
Super Fight League was a mixed martial arts promotion, based in India. The organisation was formed in 2012 by actor Sanjay Dutt and British-Indian businessman Raj Kundra, and is currently co-owned by British-Indian businessman Bill Dosanjh and British boxing champion Amir Khan.
David Light is a New Zealand professional boxer. As an amateur, he competed in the men's heavyweight division at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where he won the silver medal against Canada's Samir El-Mais. Professionally, Light is a former WBO World Crusierweight title contender, where he fought Lawrence Okolie in March 2023.
Satnam Singh Bhamara is an Indian professional wrestler and former professional basketball player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) since 2021. He also makes appearances for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where he is one-half of the current AAA World Tag Team Champions in their first reign. He became the first Indian player to be drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) when the Dallas Mavericks selected him with the 52nd overall pick of the 2015 NBA draft. At 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) and 400 pounds (180 kg), Singh played the center position. He played high school basketball at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Neeraj Goyat is an Indian boxer and mixed martial artist. He won the title of "India's Most Promising Boxer" in 2008. The first Indian boxer to have made it to WBC World Rankings. Also, he won award of WBC Asia "Honorary Boxer of the year" in 2017. He became the first Indian who defeated China's boxer Xu Can in China in the year 2014, who is World Boxing Association world champion. Neeraj was in a car accident in 2019, but has recovered and competed since.
The Super Boxing League is the first professional boxing league in India. British businessman Bill Dosanjh and former boxing champion Amir Khan founded Super Boxing League in 2017 after Super Fight League's first season. The league is organised with the support of World Boxing Council and Professional Boxing Organisation India. The first season had 8 teams comprising both men and women pugilists.
Patrick Pakuliki Mailata is a Samoan born, New Zealand raised professional boxer. As an amateur, he won three New Zealand national elite championships from 2012 to 2014 and a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Kaur Singh was an Indian heavyweight champion boxer from Punjab. Singh won three gold medals for senior national boxing championship, Asian Boxing Championship and Asian Games.
Franchón Crews-Dezurn is an American professional boxer. She is the current World Boxing Council (WBC) Super middleweight world champion and World Boxing Association (WBA) interim world champion defeating Shadasia Green December 15, 2023. She was the undisputed world champion at super middleweight, losing to Savannah Marshall on 2 July 2023. She held the World Boxing Council (WBC) titles between 2018 and 2023; the World Boxing Organization (WBO) title between 2019 and 2023; and the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) title between 2022 and 2023.
