the woman who single-handedly changed the face of UK boxing

Few people outside the boxing world fully understand the crucial role Jane Couch has played in the sport.

Without her, female boxing in this country would possibly still be illegal.

The 51-year-old who has spent the bulk of her career living in Bristol, took on the British Board of Boxing Control in the courts, and won.

The former world champion has written an autobiography, which charts her battle against the authorities and how she changed the course of history.

Jane Couch has lived an amazing life.

From fighting for titles and battling the boxing authorities, it is a journey not for the faint hearted.

She moved to Bristol from Lancashire at the age of 25, and in more ways than one is considered an honorary Bristolian.

She started life boxing with boys as she couldn’t find any female opponents, and then was forced to fight abroad in countries where boxing was legal. She won her first world title in 1996 and would go onto defend it five times.

Yet it is as much outside the ring that she is known, someone who will go down as one of the real feminist icons of British sport. In 1998 she took the British Board of Boxing Control to court.

She explained: “It was massive at the time. Changed the sport. But at first I had no idea about it.

“When I first started to box I saw a documentary about women boxing in America, and it made me want to find a gym. So I popped along to a local one in Fleetwood (Lancashire) at the time.

“Then I soon discovered that women’s boxing was illegal. I mean this is in the 90s, how can women’s boxing be 6illegal? It was so stupid,” she added.

Jane, however, managed to find a gym that would take her, and her interest grew and grew.

She soon discovered she had a natural talent, and wanted to take it as far as she could. Unfortunately she couldn’t fight anyone at home.

She said: “I wanted to become a success in the sport. But because it was illegal I had to go and fight abroad.

“When I eventually started to fight for titles it was all over the place. When I won the world title it is was in Denmark, Germany, France, Jamaica, and big fight cities in America like New York, New Orleans. Anywhere I could go.

“You’d think they’d be more fussy in Denmark than England, but no. I had no fights in the UK whatsoever in the early days,” she added.

Jane would find herself trying to make several attempts to change this rule directly to the British Board of Boxing control, but to no avail.

She said: “They said they wouldn’t allow women’s boxing because women were unstable when due on a period.

Another argument that came out was that rules in professional boxing meant that you had to be stripped to the waist, which would be inappropriate. Just silly stuff.”

Her frustrations with the boxing board continued for some time, and in many ways she was ahead of her time, in an era when the sport was steeped in sexism.

She explained: “The board was made up essentially of old men, dinosaurs if you like. The youngest would probably be in their 60s, so they didn’t get it.

“Women in their era were meant to be at home looking after children, they never moved on.

“And I would protest and say hang on a minute I have just come back from fighting for titles in Copenhagen, in New Orleans, I’ve been with Sugar Ray Leonard, I’ve been with Marvin Hagler, I’ve been with Angelo Dundee.

“Some of the greatest names in the sport, who were my friends. Who respected me and what I did.

“But no they still didn’t want to let it happen in this country.”

Whilst Couch enjoyed travelling, and big fights abroad, it was when she was offered an unlicensed fight in the UK, that she thought enough was enough, and decided to challenge it head on.

So she took to a greater authority, the High court. Couch said: “I did an interview on TV, and started talking about how ridiculous it was. Two lawyers were watching and they contacted me.

“We spoke and then took a claim out against the British Board of Boxing Control on the grounds of sexual discrimination and restriction of trade.

“It took a few years to build the case, but when it went to court we won. It was an amazing feeling. And it was embarrassing for the board, so embarrassing as the lawyer that took the case is now one of the top sexual discrimination solicitors in the country, Diane Rose QC. They worked so hard.

“For us it felt like the last bastion of men being defeated. And of course the rest was history.”

Couch would go on to have the first ever professional licensed women’s boxing fight in the UK. It took place in 1998 at Caesars Palace in Streatham, London where she beat German Simona Lukic by a technical knockout.

After becoming a six times world champion, she would retire in 2007 after losing her final fight in France against Frenchwoman Anne Sophie Mathiscan.

Her autobiography is called ‘The FinalRound’ and is an opportunity to finally tell the whole story of her remarkable career. Couch said:”I am over the moon to have this book out.

“It’s great to be able to get everything down on paper from my career, thats had many ups and downs. I have met some amazing people, and had some amazing fights both in and out the ring along the way. The sport of boxing has been my life and I love the sport inside out, it’s been very kind to me.”

‘The Final Round’ is available in all leading book shops.