Michelle Sutcliffe (born 3 February 1967) is an English

female boxer 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 ...

who competed in the Light Flyweight division. On 27 February 2000 she became the first Leeds-based boxer, professionally licensed under the

British Boxing Board of Control The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...

(BBBofC), to become a world professional boxing champion. In 1999 she was awarded the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's sportswoman of the year at the BBC in the North Sports Awards. Michelle was the second woman to be granted a professional boxers license by the BBBofC the first woman being Jane Couch. Michelle also practised

Kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

and the

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

sport of

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

Professional career

Sutcliffe's professional

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

career began on November 2, 1996, with her first world title try, as she challenged

Regina Halmich Regina Halmich (born 22 November 1976) is a German former professional boxer. She is among the most successful female boxers of all time and helped popularise female boxing in Europe. Amateur career Halmich was German champion in kickboxing a ...

for the WIBF's world Flyweight title, despite having never previously taken part in competition on this level; she ultimately lost in a second-round

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

. On June 24, 1998, Sutcliffe met Para Draine in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

for her second bout, losing by technical knockout in round five. Her first win came against Diane Berry on June 28 of that year, when she defeated Berry by decision in five rounds back home in England. On February 12, 1999, she lost to Sengul Ozokcu by a six-round decision in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, following that defeat with two wins in a row. Sutcliffe then fought Belgian champion Veerle Braspennings for the vacant Intercontinental WIBF title at the Armouries in Leeds, winning by technical knockout in round 7. On Sunday 26 September 1999 Sutcliffe won the World

International Boxing Federation The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts. The others are the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing C ...

flyweight title. The match was held at the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds. It was between Michelle Sutcliffe and Veerle Braspenningx who Sutcliffe beat after 7 rounds. Sutcliffe's ascent to boxing fame culminated with a glorious bout against Francesca Lupo at the Leeds Town Hall on February 27, 2000; entering the match, Lupo was the far more experienced fighter, having recently become the Italian champion and World Number One for the vacant WBF (World Boxing Federation) World Title flyweight crown. Sutcliffe was declared the victor by unanimous decision after ten rounds, making history as the first

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

-based professionally licensed boxer under the BBBofC to become a World professional boxing champion. On October 7, 2000, Michelle and Halmich were rematched in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, with the WIBF's world Flyweight championship on the line once again. Sutcliffe entered the match with the aim of making a bold statement, and while the fight proved much more competitive than their first match, Sutcliffe ultimately lost a very close ten-round decision on points. Her next fight, against Kim Messer in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, also ended in a loss by points decision in ten rounds. Sutcliffe followed these losses by winning the IFBA World Title crown at the Irish Center in Leeds on May 17, 2001, knocking out Bulgarian champion Maria Ivanova in round 5. After the knockout win, Sutcliffe moved up one weight division and challenged

Daisy Lang Daisy Lang () (born 4 April 1972 as Desislava Kirova ()) is a former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2004. She is a three division world champion and was the first Bulgarian woman to capture a world title, having held the WIBF sup ...

for Lang's WIBF World Jr. bantamweight title on October 29, 2001, in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Sutcliffe lost in a seven-round

technical decision A technical decision is a term used in boxing when a fight has to be stopped because of a headbutt. In mixed martial arts, a technical decision occurs when a fighter is rendered unable to continued by a foul and the majority of the final round ha ...

when the fight's referee dictated that a cut suffered by Lang had been produced by a headbutt; the bout's result proved to be controversial, as many ringside and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

viewers thought they had seen a right-hand punch by Sutcliffe causing Lang's cut. Following the contentious loss, Sutcliffe retired from professional boxing as a three-time World champion. Reflecting on her career, Sutcliffe stated: Her record stands at 7 wins and 5 losses, with 2 knockout wins.

Post-professional career

Michelle now teaches classes and 1-2-1 sessions at Tigers Gym in

Meanwood Meanwood is a suburb and former village in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits in the Moortown ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. Origins and history The name Meanwood goes back ...

, Leeds.

Legacy

Sutcliffe and

have helped to increase the popularity of women's boxing in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Sutcliffe is one of the most famous female fighters to come from England.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

Michelle Sutcliffe at Tiger's Gym
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutcliffe, Michelle 1967 births Living people English female Muay Thai practitioners English female kickboxers English women boxers 20th-century English sportswomen