Mary Ann McGee (born September 25, 1986) is an American

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 ...

. She held the IBF female

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 from 2019 to October 2021 and challenged for the WBC female

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

title in 2013.

Professional career

McGee made her professional debut on May 20, 2005, scoring a four-round

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

(UD) victory over Jasmine Davis at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza Theatre in

Merrillville, Indiana Merrillville ( , ) is a town in Ross Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 36,444 at the 2020 census. Merrillville is in east-central Lake County, in the Chicago metropolitan area. On January 1, 2015, Merrillville bec ...

. After compiling a record of 7–0, she faced undefeated Rita Figueroa (9–0, 3 KOs). The fight was stopped and ruled a

no contest ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an ...

(NC) in the fourth round of a scheduled eight-round bout after an accidental clash of heads. McGee won her next four fights before facing Tawnyah Freeman for the vacant NABC female

title on October 19, 2007 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana. McGee won the fight via fifth-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 ...

(TKO). After bouncing back with four wins, McGee fought Kristy Follmar (16–1, 9 KOs) for the vacant WBC International female lightweight title. The bout took place on April 25, 2009 at the Civic Center in

Hammond Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in Sout ...

, Indiana, with McGee capturing the WBC International female title via

majority decision A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (at ...

(MD) over ten rounds. Two judges scored the bout 97–93 in favour of McGee while the third scored it a draw at 95–95. She suffered her first career defeat in her next fight by UD over six rounds to Brooke Dierdorff on February 26, 2010. McGee won her next three fights before unsuccessfully challenging

Holly Holm Holly Rene Holm (born October 17, 1981) is an American professional boxer and former mixed martial artist. She previously competed in the women's Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is a former Women's ...

for the IBA, and WBF light welterweight titles on May 12, 2013 at the Route 66 Casino in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. She suffered the second defeat of her career, losing by UD over ten rounds. All three judges scored the bout 100–90 in favour of Holms. In her next fight she challenged for her first major world title against the reigning, undefeated WBC female lightweight champion

Érica Farías Érica Anabella Farías (born 13 July 1984), known as "La Pantera", is an Argentine professional boxer. She is a two-weight world champion, having held the World Boxing Council, WBC female lightweight title from 2011 to 2014 and the WBC ...

. McGee lost the bout by UD, with the judges' scorecards reading 100–90, 98–90 and 98–91. She won her next five fights before challenging for her second major world against Ana Esteche on December 5, 2019 at Terminal 5 in New York City. McGee won via TKO in the tenth and final round to capture the vacant IBF female light welterweight title. McGee lost her title to unbeaten WBC champion

Chantelle Cameron Chantelle Cameron (born 14 May 1991) is an English professional boxer. She is a former world champion in two weight classes, including the former undisputed light-welterweight champion, having held the WBC title between 2020 and 2023; the I ...

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as The O2, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of The O2 entertainment district on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, England. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the third-highest seat ...

in London, England, on 30 October 2021, going down to a unanimous decision defeat in a contest which was also for the inaugural

Ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

female light-welterweight title.

Professional boxing record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, Mary Living people 1986 births American women boxers Boxers from Indiana Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana Lightweight boxers Light-welterweight boxers Welterweight boxers International Boxing Federation champions