Pioneering Boxer Cecilia Brækhus Celebrates Jane Couch’s Hall of Fame Induction

Norwegian boxing icon Cecilia Brækhus expressed her delight at the news of trailblazer Jane Couch’s induction into the Hall of Fame. Brækhus, a former undisputed women’s welterweight champion, has faced her own battles throughout her career, including helping to legalize the sport in Norway and becoming the first woman to fight on HBO Boxing.

Brækhus Pays Tribute to Couch’s Contributions

Brækhus (37-2-1, 9 KOs), now 42 years old, attended Friday’s 360 Promotions event in Santa Ynez, California, where she shared her thoughts on the recent announcement.

“Wonderful, she paved the way,” Brækhus said of Couch. “She did such a tremendous job. I think it is very important to look back at women who came before us, like Couch. There are so many women who contributed without getting any recognition at all. We can’t thank them enough.”

Brækhus’ Challenges in Legalizing Boxing in Norway

Brækhus’s own journey has been marked by challenges, including her pivotal role in legalizing boxing in Norway.

“That was very difficult,” she recalled. “It was a six-year-long process of finding allies among politicians. Tons of paperwork. I had to fly from our training camp in Germany back to Norway on the weekends to appear in front of committees.”

The boxer’s perseverance paid off when she sold out her homecoming fight against Anne Sophie Mathis in Oslo, Norway, in 2016. Known as “The First Lady,” Brækhus made her HBO Boxing debut against Kali Reis at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, in 2018, on the undercard of a Gennady Golovkin-Vanes Martirosyan main event. She was also featured in HBO’s final boxing broadcast, defeating Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes later that year.

Brækhus Reflects on Milestone HBO Debut

“Tom [Loeffler] was a big part of this, getting the first fight on HBO, which was huge,” Brækhus said. “We had a million people watching this fight. For me, I was very happy but also a little bit sad because I think it should have been much earlier. I learned that Laila Ali was fighting on HBO, but her fights were never shown on HBO.”

Reflecting on her achievement with the now-defunct boxing property, Brækhus offered a frank assessment:

“We really shouldn’t have been the first,” she said.

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