Myriam Lamare (born 1 January 1975, in Saint-Denis) is a French female boxer who won world titles in the

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded ...

(WBA), World Boxing Federation (WBF), and

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 ...

(IBF).

Biography

Myriam Lamare was born to a French father and an Algerian mother. She spent her childhood in Aubervilliers, France. She left school at age 17, hoping to help support her family, and began boxing as an amateur because her parents did not have the means to enroll her in a club. She went on to practice

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

, full-contact karate, and

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 ...

. While working in a catering job in

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

, Lamare trained in contact sports such as full-contact kickboxing. Her unexpected break happened at a facility in

Fort-de-France Fort-de-France (, , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. History Before it was ceded to France by Spain in 1635, the area of Fort-de-Fra ...

, when she was seen by an expert coach visiting from Hatman Miloudi, a French boxing club in

Bobigny Bobigny () is a commune, or town, in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Bobigny is the prefecture (capital city) of the Seine-Saint-Denis department, as well as the seat of the ...

. He helped Lamare develop from a regional-level fighter to elite status in a recognized national federation, the French Federation of

Savate Savate (), also known as French Boxing (French language, French: ''Boxe Française'') or French Foot Fighting, is a French hybrid martial art and full-contact combat sport that combines principles of boxing, western boxing with a wide variety ...

(French boxing). When Lamare was awarded the title of vice-champion of France, she left Martinique and moved to

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

for better training conditions. As an amateur, her record was 45 fights, 42 wins. In November 2004, Lamare became the world champion in the

super lightweight 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, ...

category, beating the United States' Eliza Olson. She became the first female world champion recognized by the World Boxing Association. On 29 April 2005, she defended her title by beating

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

's Elena Tverdokhleb before 7,000 spectators at the Palais des Sports in Marseille. It was during the sixth defense of her world title on 2 December 2006 in Paris that Lamare, who had earned a reputation as a "killer" in the ring, met

Anne Sophie Mathis Anne Sophie Mathis (born 23 July 1977) is a French former professional boxer who competed between 1995 and 2016. She held world titles in two weight division; the WBA female super-lightweight from 2006 to 2008; the WBC female super-lightweight ...

for the first time. Lamare lost by referee stoppage in the sixth round. The match was voted female fight of the year by

Ring Magazine ''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into questio ...

. A rematch was held in Marseille on 29 June 2007, and the result was the same: Mathis dominated all 10 rounds. On 23 January 2009, Lamare lost to

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 ...

, the reigning

Women's International Boxing Association The Women's International Boxing Association (WIBA) is a sanctioning body for women's professional boxing. Established in July 2000, it quickly grew into a major force in the sport. History The WIBA was officially founded by American Ryan Wisso ...

(WIBA) welterweight champion. However, on 9 October 2009, she won the vacant position of WBF welterweight champion, beating Ann Saccurato of the United States. On 5 November 2011, Lamare became the IBF super lightweight world champion by defeating Chevelle Hallback in

Toulon, France Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var department. The Commune of Toulon has a population o ...

. Lamare announced her retirement from professional boxing in February 2014. She was inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame in 2018.

Professional boxing record

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 1–0 ,

Annalisa Bucci Annalisa Bucci (born ) is an Italian female kickboxer and mixed martial artist, based in Rimini. She has competed professionally since 2005 and is the currently competing in the Bellator Featherweight division and in the SUPERKOMBAT Lightweight di ...

, Decision (Unanimous) , PFC 4 - Pancrase Fighting Championship 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, France ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamare, Myriam 1975 births French sportspeople of Algerian descent French women boxers French female mixed martial artists World lightweight boxing champions World boxing champions Living people French savateurs Sportspeople from Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing savate Welterweight boxers Lightweight boxers AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships medalists