Cecilia Brækhus

Cecilia Carmen Linda Brækhus (born 28 September 1981) is a Norwegian professional boxer and former kickboxer. In boxing she reigned as the undisputed female welterweight champion from 2014 to August 2020, and is the first woman in any weight class to hold the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles simultaneously. She is also one of only seven boxers in history, female or male, to hold all four major world titles simultaneously, along with Bernard Hopkins (2004–2005), Jermain Taylor (2005), Terence Crawford (2017), Oleksandr Usyk (2018–2019), Claressa Shields (2019–), and Katie Taylor (2019-). In 2016, she captured the IBO title, becoming the first ever boxer to hold five world titles from sanctioning bodies simultaneously.

Cecilia Brækhus
Brækhus modelling at the Oslo Fashion Show, 2010
Statistics
Real nameCecilia Carmen Linda Brækhus
Nickname(s)The First Lady
Weight(s)Welterweight
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
NationalityNorwegian
Born (1981-09-28) 28 September 1981
Cartagena, Colombia
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights37
Wins36
Wins by KO9
Losses1
Medal record
Women's amateur boxing
Representing  Norway
World Championships
2005 Podolsk Light-welterweight
European Championships
2005 Tønsberg Light-welterweight
2004 Riccione Light-welterweight

In 2017, the Boxing Writers Association of America named Brækhus their inaugural Female Fighter of the Year.[1] Guinness World Records awarded her with three recognitions in 2018: the Longest Reigning Female Boxing Champion, the Longest Reign as a Four-Belt Undisputed Boxing Champion, and the Most Bouts Undefeated by a Female World Champion Boxer.[2] As of May 2020, she is ranked as the world's best active welterweight,[3] and sixth best active pound-for-pound female fighter by BoxRec.[4]

Early life

Born in Cartagena, Colombia, Brækhus was adopted as a two-year-old by Norwegian parents and raised in the Sandviken area of Bergen.[5] Brækhus started kickboxing at the age of fourteen.

Brækhus soon began competing in amateur boxing competitions, and achieved an amateur record of 75-5-0 before turning professional.[6]

Kickboxing career (semi-contact)

Amateur boxing career

Brækhus fought 80 matches and won 75 of them.

Professional boxing career

In November 2007, she signed a pro contract with German promoter Wilfried Sauerland, who announced his intention of making her the first Norwegian woman World Champion.[5] Her first fight was against Croatian boxer Ksenija Koprek, 20 January 2007.[9]

On 14 March 2009, she became the WBC World Champion in welterweight against Danish boxer Vinni Skovgaard. She also captured the vacant WBA female welterweight title.[10]

Brækhus successfully defended her titles on May 30, 2009 against Amy Yuratovac in Helsinki, Finland, and on September 12, 2009 against Lucia Morelli in Herning, Denmark.

Brækhus after defending her titles against Jill Emery, 2011

Eight months later, on May 15, 2010, Brækhus successfully defended her WBA and WBC titles against Victoria Cisneros from the United States, while winning the WBO title. The match was fought in Herning, Denmark. In a unanimous decision, the judges declared the fight for Brækhus, having won all 10 rounds.[11][12] On October 30, 2010, in what was expected to be the hardest match of her career, Brækhus successfully defended her WBA, WBC and WBO titles against Mikaela Laurén from Sweden, while winning the World Professional Boxing Federation (WPBF) title. After Brækhus having dominated the whole match, she knocked Laurén out in the 7th round. The match was fought in Rostock, Germany.[13]

On September 14, 2014, after defeating Croatian Ivana Habazin, Brækhus became the first Norwegian and the first woman to hold all major world championship belts in her weight division (welterweight) in boxing history.[14] In 2010, she was voted the "Female Boxer of the Year" by German boxing magazine BoxSport.

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
37 fights 36 wins 1 loss
By knockout 9 0
By decision 27 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
37 Loss 36–1 Jessica McCaskill MD 10 15 Aug 2020 Tulsa, Oklahoma, US Lost WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring female welterweight titles
36 Win 36–0 Victoria Bustos UD 10 30 Nov 2019 Casino de Salle Medecin, Monte Carlo, Monaco Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring female welterweight titles
35 Win 35–0 Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes UD 10 8 Dec 2018 StubHub Center, Carson, California, US Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring female welterweight titles
34 Win 34–0 Inna Sagaydakovskaya UD 10 21 Jul 2018 Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
33 Win 33–0 Kali Reis UD 10 5 May 2018 StubHub Center, Carson, California, US Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
32 Win 32–0 Mikaela Laurén TKO 6 (10), 1:35 21 Oct 2017 Oslofjord Convention Center, Stokke, Norway Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
31 Win 31–0 Erica Farias UD 10 9 Jun 2017 Bergenhus Festning, Bergen, Norway Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
30 Win 30–0 Klara Svensson UD 10 24 Feb 2017 Spektrum, Oslo, Norway Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
29 Win 29–0 Anne Sophie Mathis TKO 2 (10), 1:05 1 Oct 2016 Spektrum, Oslo, Norway Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
28 Win 28–0 Chris Namus UD 10 27 Feb 2016 Gerry Weber Stadion, Halle, Germany Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO female welterweight titles;
Won vacant IBO female welterweight title
27 Win 27–0 Jennifer Retzke UD 10 29 Nov 2014 Falkoner Center, Frederiksberg, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO female welterweight titles
26 Win 26–0 Ivana Habazin UD 10 14 Sep 2014 TAP1, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles;
Won IBF female welterweight title
25 Win 25–0 Jessica Balogun UD 10 7 Jun 2014 Sport- und Kongresshalle, Schwerin, Germany Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
24 Win 24–0 Myriam Lamare UD 10 1 Feb 2014 Arena Nord, Frederikshavn, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
23 Win 23–0 Oxandia Castillo TKO 9 (10), 1:51 7 Sep 2013 Arena Nord, Frederikshavn, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
22 Win 22–0 Mia St. John TKO 3 (10), 1:38 13 Apr 2013 Arena Nord, Frederikshavn, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
21 Win 21–0 Anne Sophie Mathis UD 10 22 Sep 2012 Arena Nord, Frederikshavn, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
20 Win 20–0 Jessica Balogun UD 10 1 Jun 2012 MCH Kongrescenter, Herning, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
19 Win 19–0 Ku'ulei Kupihea TKO 10 (10), 0:57 3 Dec 2011 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
18 Win 18–0 Chevelle Hallback UD 10 7 May 2011 Koncerthuset, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
17 Win 17–0 Jill Emery UD 10 2 Apr 2011 MCH Kongrescenter, Herning, Denmark Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
16 Win 16–0 Eva Bajic KO 3 (10), 0:27 20 Nov 2010 MCH Kongrescenter, Herning, Denmark Retained WBC and WBO female welterweight titles
15 Win 15–0 Mikaela Laurén TKO 7 (10), 0:40 30 Oct 2010 StadtHalle, Rostock, Germany Retained WBA, WBC, and WBO female welterweight titles
14 Win 14–0 Victoria Cisneros UD 10 15 May 2010 MCH Kongrescenter, Herning, Denmark Retained WBA and WBC female welterweight titles;
Won vacant WBO female welterweight title
13 Win 13–0 Lucia Morelli UD 10 12 Sep 2009 MCH Messecenter, Herning, Denmark Retained WBA and WBC female welterweight titles
12 Win 12–0 Amy Yuratovac UD 10 30 May 2009 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland Retained WBA and WBC female welterweight titles
11 Win 11–0 Vinni Skovgaard UD 10 14 Mar 2009 Sparkassen-Arena, Kiel, Germany Won vacant WBA and WBC female welterweight titles
10 Win 10–0 Borislava Goranova UD 8 25 Oct 2008 Weser-Ems Halle, Oldenburg, Germany
9 Win 9–0 Cimberly Harris UD 8 20 Sep 2008 Seidensticker Halle, Bielefeld, Germany
8 Win 8–0 Nicole Woods UD 6 21 Jun 2008 Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, US
7 Win 7–0 Adelita Irizarry UD 6 17 May 2008 Oberfrankenhalle, Bayreuth, Germany
6 Win 6–0 Tatjana Dieckmann UD 6 29 Mar 2008 Sparkassen-Arena, Kiel, Germany
5 Win 5–0 Wanda Pena Ozuna TKO 4 (4), 1:47 26 Jan 2008 Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany
4 Win 4–0 Borislava Goranova UD 6 23 Jun 2007 Stadthalle, Zwickau, Germany
3 Win 3–0 Olga Bojare UD 4 26 May 2007 Jako Arena, Bamberg, Germany
2 Win 2–0 Jana Latova KO 2 (4) 17 Feb 2007 Complexe sportif, Evere, Belgium
1 Win 1–0 Ksenija Koprek UD 4 20 Jan 2007 St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland

See also

References
  1. "Cecilia Braekhus - BWAA Female Fighter of the Year". BoxingScene. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  2. "Undisputed champ Cecilia Braekhus honored by WBC in Kiev". World Boxing News. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  3. "BoxRec: Female welterweight ratings". boxrec.com. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  4. "BoxRec: Female P4P ratings". boxrec.com. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  5. (in Norwegian) Profile/Blog Blog Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine at TV2blogg.no
  6. "Cecilia Brækhus Awakening Profile". Awakeningfighters.com. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  7. "WAKO official tournament results". Archived from the original on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2014-10-01.
  8. 2002 King's trophy recipients Archived 2014-10-20 at the Wayback Machine
  9. (in Norwegian) Nervøs, men selvsikker BA.no
  10. Cecilia Braekhus new WBA 147 World Champion Archived 2010-12-02 at the Wayback Machine WBAnews.com
  11. VG.no - Suverene Brækhus tok ny tittel
  12. Dagbladet.no - Brækhus forsvarte mesterbeltene
  13. Brækhus vant på knockout vg.no
  14. Brækhus first woman to unify division Archived 2015-11-23 at the Wayback Machine The Foreigner
Sporting positions
Minor world boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Jennifer Retzke		 IBO female welterweight champion
27 February 2016 – 15 August 2020		 Succeeded by
Jessica McCaskill
Major world boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Holly Holm		 WBA female welterweight champion
14 March 2009 – 15 August 2020		 Succeeded by
Jessica McCaskill
WBC female welterweight champion
14 March 2009 – 15 August 2020
Vacant
Title last held by
Hanna Gabriel		 WBO female welterweight champion
15 May 2010 – 15 August 2020
Preceded by
Ivana Habazin		 IBF female welterweight champion
13 September 2014 – 15 August 2020
Inaugural champion Undisputed female
welterweight champion
13 September 2014 – 15 August 2020
The Ring female welterweight champion
13 September 2018 – 15 August 2020
Awards
Inaugural recipient BWAA Female Fighter of the Year
2017		 Next:
Claressa Shields
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