Ann Wolfe (born January 17, 1971) is an American retired

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, trainer and actress. Wolfe held world titles in three different weight classes simultaneously and is regarded as one of the greatest female boxers of all time. She is a member of the

International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame The International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame (IWBHF) is a sports hall of fame located in Vancouver, Washington. It is dedicated to women's boxing, and was started by Sue TL Fox and her website Women Boxing Archive Network. The Hall of Fame has a ...

Personal life

Wolfe was born in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

and moved to

Oberlin, Louisiana Oberlin is a town in and the parish seat of Allen Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,770 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Johann Friedrich Oberlin. Oberlin was the home of Ernest S. Clements, a Democratic member ...

where she spent most of her childhood. She moved back to Austin in 1996 with her two daughters and one son. After being homeless and working construction, she met her original trainer 'Pops' Billingsley. She fought her amateur fights under Billingsley's tutelage and started fighting as a professional for RPM Promotions.

Amateur career

Wolfe had a record of 3-1 as an amateur boxer and fought at the 1998 U.S. National Championships. She won a decision over Tami Hendrickson of Seattle in the quarter-final by 50–39, then went on to stop Shanie Keelean of Chicago within 46 seconds of the first round. In the semifinal Wolfe lost to La'Kiea Coffen by a disqualification at 1:23 of the third round.

Professional career

Wolfe made her professional debut by beating Brenda Lee Bell by a four-round decision. Her first and only career loss came four fights later, when she was knocked out in three rounds by veteran and future world champion

Valerie Mahfood Valerie Rebecca Mahfood (born February 1, 1974) is a female boxer who is a former world Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion. Known as "The Big Bad Wolfe", Mahfood is known in the boxing world by her brawling style of fighting, an ...

. Wolfe beat Vienna Williams by a ten-round decision to win her first world title, the IFBA Jr. Middleweight title. She beat Gina Nicholas by knockout in three to win the vacant WIBA Light Middleweight title. She then proceeded to beat Shirvelle Williams by knockout in one round on a non-title bout. Next was the vacant IFBA world Super Middleweight title, which she picked up by knocking out Marsha Valley in six rounds. She and Valley fought again, this time with the vacant WIBC's version of the title, and Wolfe won by knockout in round ten. Wolfe avenged her defeat against Mahfood by taking the NABA World Super Middleweight Championship from her with a ten-round decision.

Wolfe vs. Ward

On May 8, 2004 in

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

, Wolfe matched

Henry Armstrong Henry Jackson Jr. (December 12, 1912 – October 24, 1988) was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisio ...

's record of three world titles at the same time in different weight classes, by gaining the IBA world Light Heavyweight championship, knocking out undefeated champion and former

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star

Vonda Ward Vonda is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Vonda Kay Van Dyke, crowned the 1965 Miss America on September 13, 1964 * Vonda N. McIntyre (1948–2019), American science fiction author * Vonda Phelps, American child stage actres ...

at one minute and eight seconds of Round One. Ward had a neck concussion because she hit the canvas with her neck when she fell. She was taken to the hospital in serious condition due to damage to her neck and head. The bout was nationally televised, with television commentators called it "the best knockout punch in a women’s boxing history".

Later career

Wolfe retained her title in a rematch with Valley by a sixth-round knockout. On July 19, 2005, Wolfe defeated

Monica Nunez Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

by a seventh-round knockout in

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. On August 20, 2005, she fought and defeated

for the second time, by a ten-round decision.

Retirement

Wolfe last fought in 2006, knocking out Cassandra Giger and decisioning Lisa Ested. She has since worked as a boxing trainer. In 2015, Wolfe was inducted into the

Training career

Wolfe has trained many amateur and professional boxers, including her oldest daughter, Jennifer Fenn, and light-middleweight James Kirkland.

Film career

Wolfe was cast by director

Patty Jenkins Patricia Lea Jenkins (born July 24, 1971) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. She has directed the feature films ''Monster'' (2003), ''Wonder Woman'' (2017), and ''Wonder Woman 1984'' (2020). For the film ''Monster'', she w ...

in the role of

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

warrior

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in the 2017 film ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

''.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, Ann Sportspeople from Austin, Texas Boxers from Texas African-American boxers American women boxers American boxing trainers World boxing champions World light-middleweight boxing champions World middleweight boxing champions World super-middleweight boxing champions World light-heavyweight boxing champions Light-heavyweight boxers 1971 births Living people LGBT boxers 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century LGBT people 20th-century African-American women