Welcome To WBAN™! By Sue TL Fox

During my early days in boxing, you could find the usual assortment of items at the gym: worn out heavy bags, one used and slightly droopy boxing ring, drippy showers, squeaky lockers and the gravely voice of an overly-excited trainer. And, yet, at the same time, I never felt more like I belonged. I loved boxing from the first moment I laced on a glove, and I still do today.

I was willing do endure the nasty remarks, cold shoulders and grueling schedule, not to mention the bloody noses, aching muscles and lonely miles on the road, to pursue my dream of becoming a professional boxer.

When I had slipped the gloves off for the last time, at least as a professional, I thought the dream had died. When women started to make a mark for themselves in the sport several years ago, it rekindled a fire and desire that had smoldered for more than a decade.

That’s the passion which now drives my Women Boxing Archive Network (WBAN™), www.womenboxing.com / www.wban.com, a sometimes first-hand, sometimes quirky, sometimes enlightening but always heartfelt and objective look at women’s boxing. While my goal was to pay homage to the fighters of the 70s and 80s who began paving the way for fighters today, my site has become much bigger and more popular than I ever expected.

The acronym WBAN,  “Women Boxing Archive Network” pretty much sums up what I’m all about. I enjoy offering fans an unbiased, fair and uniquely personal perspective on women’s boxing — past and present — that can only come from one who has been inside the squared circle herself. Archive is the link to the past — which we must never forget, both champions and club fighters — who have allowed the sport to flourish. Network is the thread that pulls it all together, from a group of dedicated and women’s boxing enthusiasts who contribute their original words and pictures for the site, to the vast array of information and detail about boxers of today and yesterday.

What’s happened in the sport recently is very exciting. The coverage and visibility that today’s fighters enjoy we could only dream about. But it’s always about the dream. It was then, and it is now. Through the Women Boxing Archive Network, the dreams of those past and those of today, are becoming reality.

*This article was also published in LadySport Magazine and Ringsport magazine