'Women's pro boxing is huge, just not in Ireland'

Christina McMahon is proud to have overcome so many obstacles to become world champion

Christina McMahon: ‘When I won the world title in Zambia, there were 30 million people watching on TV. . . My fights were the headline fights, the men’s fights were on our undercard‘ Photo: David Conachy

Aisling Crowe

Professional boxing. Two words conjure up images of Rocky, title fights in Vegas, Madison Square Garden, glitzy shows, Muhammad Ali, huge egos, promoters and multi-million-dollar title fights.

Now in Ireland we are being introduced to the idea that this is an arena women can compete in, and are not mere appendages to the men who dominate the world we see as professional boxing.