Oxford’s first ever female boxing event will take place on Saturday 17th November at the Iffley road sport centre.
The match will see the women of Oxford University’s Amateur Boxing Club compete against tough competition from across the nation, with boxers coming from as far afield as Cornwall and Essex.
The OUABC women’s team is currently one of the strongest female squads in the country, and the match will see Oxford’s best and brightest compete across eight senior and two junior bouts.
The OUABC roster looks particularly strong this year, featuring the newly crowned Amateur Boxing Association champion and 2018 Blue, Lydia Welham, whose last opponent asked for the match to be stopped after one of Welham’s ferocious punches, as well as OUABC women’s co-captain, Rachel Wheatley, herself a Blue in 2017 and a BUCS silver medallist.
Accompanying these two stand out boxers are veterans of the fiercely contested annual ‘Town vs Gown’ match, OUABC president Indie Walker, women’s co-captain Ella Penny and Sofia Lindqvist will be looking to dazzle once again under the bright lights, following strong performances at the event last year.
The match also sees the return of Zoey Zhang, who will enter the ring after a brief hiatus following the 2017 ‘Town vs Gown’.
In addition to the experienced fighters of OUABC, the Oxford Women’s Boxing Match will see two new boxers blooded when Kaya Axelson and Jessica Lee enter the ring to spar in their first ever Amateur Boxing matches.
In addition to the senior bouts, there will be a series of junior fights, which will give the crowd a chance to see the up and coming talent that the club possesses.
Indie Walker, OUABC president, told Cherwell “The women’s team is the strongest it has ever been. We’re training twice a day most days and we’re ready to smash this match. The workouts have been gruelling but we’re all glad the event is now within reach.”
The match looks set to be a historic occasion for OUABC and offers the rare chance to see boxers of such high quality fighting competitively in Oxford.
