Jane Couch, (born 14 August 1968) is a British former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed from 1994 to 2007. She became the first licensed female boxer in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1998. Couch was inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

as part of the class of 2024.

Background

Born in

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

, Lancashire, Couch was expelled from her school in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

and thereafter lived "a life of booze, drugs and street fighting". At the age of 26 she saw a television documentary about women's boxing and decided to try it. In her first official fight, a

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 ...

match, she defeated a policewoman, about which she said "it was brilliant to flatten one police officerand get paid for it".

Professional boxing career

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. ...

initially refused to grant Couch a professional licence on the sole ground that she was a woman, and argued that PMS made women too unstable to box. Claiming

sexual discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

and supported by the Equal Opportunities Commission, Couch managed to have this decision overturned by a

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

in March 1998. However, some criticism followed as the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

called this result "a demented extension of equal opportunities". Couch would later seek the right to fight a male opponent, but was unsuccessful. Of this, she said Couch's first major success occurred in only her fifth pro fight in 1996 when she won the WIBF

light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

title by outpointing France's Sandra Geiger over ten rounds in Copenhagen, Denmark. Of this fight, Couch observed in 2004 that "I have never been hit so hard in all my life", and called Geiger "the toughest opponent (she) fought". The first sanctioned professional boxing match between women in the U.K. was in November 1998 at

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

in London, between Couch and Simona Lukic. Couch won. Couch announced her retirement on 1 December 2008 and said she intended to continue as a boxing promoter. At the time, she said

Other achievements

In 2001, she published an autobiography, ''Jane Couch – Fleetwood Assassin''. Couch was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 2007

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...

. In 2012, Couch was awarded the AOCA / Awakening Outstanding Contribution Award for her part played in raising public awareness and acceptance of female fighters. In 2016, Couch was inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. The IWBHF was created and founded in 2014 by Sue TL Fox.

Post-boxing career

In 2008 Couch competed in the reincarnation of Superstars. On 20 December 2008 Couch co-promoted a promotion with

Ricky Hatton Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and boxing trainer, trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world champi ...

in Bristol and then in February 2009 announced a more formal partnership with Hatton Promotions when she signed as boxing co-ordinator. Couch long supported the inclusion of women's boxing in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, saying On 12 August 2009 it was reported that the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

appeared set to include the sport in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. In December 2009, Couch promoted a competition at the Marriott Hotel, Bristol. Couch also has her own YouTube channel which features regular interviews with people involved in boxing.

Professional boxing record

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 28 Wins (9 KOs), 11 Losses , - style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Res. , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Record , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - align=center , Loss , 28–11 , align=left, Anne Sophie Mathis , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 28–10 , align=left, Jaime Clampitt , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 28–9 , align=left, Holly Holm , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 28–8 , align=left, Viktoria Oliynyk , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 27–8 , align=left, Galina Gumliiska , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 26–8 , align=left, Myriam Lamare , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 26–7 , align=left, Oksana Cernikova , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 25–7 , align=left, Jessica Rakoczy , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 25–6 , align=left, Larysa Berezenko , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 24–6 , align=left, Jaime Clampitt , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 23–6 , align=left, Nathalie Toro , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 23–5 , align=left, Borislava Goranova , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 22–5 , align=left, Brenda Drexel , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 21–5 , align=left, Brenda Drexel , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 20–5 , align=left, Lucia Rijker , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 20–4 , align=left, Larysa Berezenko , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 19–4 , align=left, Borislava Goranova , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 18–4 , align=left, Borislava Goranova , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 17–4 , align=left, Borislava Goranova , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 16–4 , align=left, Sumya Anani , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 16–3 , align=left, Tzanka Karova , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 15–3 , align=left, Carla Witherspoon , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 14–3 , align=left, Viktoria Oliynyk , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 13–3 , align=left, Elizabeth Mueller , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 13–2 , align=left, Galina Gumliiska , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 12–2 , align=left, Michelle Strauss , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 11–2 , align=left, Sharon Anyos , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 10–2 , align=left, Heike Noller , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 9–2 , align=left, Marischa Sjauw , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 8–2 , align=left, Simona Lukic , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 7–2 , align=left, Dora Webber , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 7–1 , align=left, Dora Webber , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Leah Mellinger , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Andrea DeShong , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Sandra Geiger , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Julia Shirley , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Jane Johnson , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Fosteres Joseph , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Kalpna Shah , , , , align=left, , , - align=center

References

External links

*
Jane Couch profile
at Awakening Fighters

from the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Couch, Jane 1968 births Living people English women boxers Members of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from Fleetwood World boxing champions Lightweight boxers Light-welterweight boxers 20th-century English sportswomen