Cathy Davis (born c. 1952) is an American 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 bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed between 1976 and 1981. Some of her fights were fixed.

Career

Davis sued the

New York State Athletic Commission The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, ...

(NYSAC) in 1977 because she was denied a boxing license because she was a woman, and the case was decided in her favor later that year, with the judge invalidating New York State rule number 205.15, which stated, “No woman may be licensed as a boxer or second or licensed to compete in any wrestling exhibition with men.” In his opinion the judge cited the precedent set by '' Garrett v. New York State Athletic Commission'' (1975), which “found the regulation invalid under the equal protection clauses of the State and Federal Constitutions”. The NYSAC filed an appeal of the ruling, but later dropped it. In August 1978 Davis became the first, and, until

Ronda Rousey Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women� ...

in January 2016, the only woman to be on the cover of '' The Ring''. On September 19, 1978, Davis received the

NYSAC The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, ...

’s first boxing license given to a female boxer. Cat Davis did not only fight in New York. She fought between 1976 and 1981, in various areas of the country, including

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and much of the Northwest. She became popular throughout the country by often fighting on television. It was eventually revealed that some of her fights had been fixed.

Partial boxing record

Officially, her first fight occurred on November 11, 1977, when she

knocked out 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 strikin ...

Margie Dunson in the first round, in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. On June 7, 1978, she and Ernestine Jones fought to a

no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neith ...

in a bout that was scheduled for four rounds. On July 2, 1979, she knocked out Uschi Doering in the Exposition Building, in Portland, Maine, in 6 rounds.

Professional boxing record

References

Bibliography

*''A History of Women's Boxing'', Malissa Smith, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2014, *THE GREAT WHITE HYPE By Jack Newfield - Published November 1979 Volume. One - Originally printed in the VOICE Vol. XXIII No. 41 "The Weekly Newspaper of New York, October 16, 1978

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Cathy 1952 births Living people People from Winnfield, Louisiana American women boxers Boxers from Louisiana Lightweight boxers Welterweight boxers American expatriate sportspeople in South Africa 21st-century American women