Anne Sophie Mathis from France didn't have a very good start to her professional career, but finished it as one of the most accomplished female fighters the sport has seen. Mathis was born on June 13, 1977 in Nancy, in the northeast of France, and turned pro in 1995 at eighteen. She had no amateur boxing experience but had combat experience under the disciplines of kickboxing and savate. On October 21, 1995 in Eger, Hungary she stopped Erika Szegedi (1-3) in the first round of her debut, and less than a month later Mathis was already matched tough at  154 pounds against Marischa Sjauw (5-0-1) in Holland. Quite predictably it was much too early for the French teenager, and she was overwhelmed, dropped three times and stopped in round five. It would be her last boxing contest for over eight years, as she returned to kickboxing.

Her “second career” would obviously be much more successful. At the age of twenty-six, she made her boxing comeback, in France, stopping Katalin Csehi (3-3) in two rounds as a 140-pounder on December 6, 2003. That would be the start of a 25-fight unbeaten run over almost nine years, boxing exclusively in her home country where she developed into a fan favorite. She blew away eight straight opponents, before securing her first real test since coming back.

At 9-1, Mathis Natalie Toro (then 14-0) in October 2005, firmly announcing herself with a ninth-round stoppage. Toro, from Belgium, had won the WIBF title at lightweight in her previous outing, so the fact that Mathis defeated her in an all-action fight was a big statement and clear indicator of what was to come.

Mathis stayed busy with low-profile victories in February and October of 2006, while a true all-French super fight against WBA junior welterweight champion Myriam Lamare (13-0) was in the works. The fight, probably the most significant female fight ever in the country, was signed and sealed for December 2nd on a massive card at the Palais Omnisport in Paris, televised live on national television in France. It didn't disappoint, as the two rivals went to war, trading punches back and forth before Mathis got through with a combination in the seventh round to stop Lamare, basically knocking her out on her feet as the referee jumped in to save her.

It was such a great fight, named Female Fight of the Year by Ring Magazine, that they were bound to do it again. Mathis kept busy again with two non-title victories over inferior opponents while the rematch was negotiated and finally set for June 2007 in Marseille as part of another huge televised event. The second go-around was close, but while Lamare started strong and appeared to be trying for a quick finish, Mathis took over in the second half and retained the WBA title by majority decision in front of almost six thousand fans.

Mathis finished 2007 with a second round demolition of women’s boxing pioneer Jane Couch (28-10) in a non-title fight.

On March 8, 2008 she retained the WBA world title, and captured the vacant WBC and WIBF belts, stopping Panamanian Ana Pascal (11-0) in three.

On November 22 she scored a unanimous decision over Belinda Laracuente (23-22-3) to retain the WBA title. It would be two years before Mathis boxed again, and when she returned in November of 2010 she had grown into a welterweight and began her mission to become a two-division champion.

Mathis reeled off three routine victories against nondescript opposition, before entering her next big welterweight challenge on April 29, 2011 in Seine-et-Marne against Serbian-born  Duda Yankovic (11-2). With little trouble, Mathis took care of the game Yankovic inside three rounds, proving that she carried her power well into the new weight-class.

Just seven weeks later, she was ready to fight undefeated Swiss-based compatriot Olivia Boudouma (8-0) for the vacant WBF and WIBA world titles. Boudouma was no match for Mathis, who steamrolled her in five rounds to become a two-weight champion in a fight held near Marseille, France.

Next up was a defense the following October against Cindy Serrano (15-3-2), a Puerto Rican fighting out of New York. With the vacant WIBF world title also on the line, Mathis outclassed Serrano over ten rounds, winning every round and a wide unanimous decision.

Now 26-1, Mathis booked a fight against Holly Hom, who was then 30-1-3, for December 2011 in Holm’s home of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Mathis put a vicious beating on Holm before the referee finally waved it off in round seven, waiting too long to give the brave Holm every chance to miraculously recover, Instead, Mathis mercilessly punished a completely defenseless Holm on the ropes before the overdue stoppage. It was such a dominant and conclusive victory, that many felt Mathis proved herself to be among the best pound-for-pound female boxers in the world.

But Holm was still one of the very best too, so a rematch was still the biggest fight out there for Mathis. She agreed to return to Albuquerque six months later. Amazingly Holm had plenty left after the beating she took in the first fight, and against all the odds redeemed herself by unanimous decision. Holm boxed very intelligently, and was awarded a deserved triumph by scores of 96-94, 97-93 and 99-91.

Instead of coming back with an easy fight, Mathis went straight into another huge fight, a challenge of WBC/ WBA/ WBO world champion Cecilia Braekhus (then 20-0). Only three months after the second Holm fight, Mathis gave the Norwegian Braekhus a tough fight before coming up short on the scorecards in Denmark. With a rematch not on the cards in the near future, Mathis decided it was time to move up in weight yet again.

After a well-deserved rest, Mathis returned on June 1, 2013 against Dominican Yahaira Hernandez (14-4), with the vacant WBF 154-pound title on the line. Only a few days before her thirty-sixth birthday, Mathis put on a masterclass to become a three-weight title holder, stopping Hernandez in five.

A spell of inactivity followed, as Mathis was on the search for yet another big fight. The opportunity came in July 2014 against middleweight champion Christina Hammer (then 17-0), who was also a former undefeated world titlist at super middleweight.

A Kazakhstan-born German, the highly touted Hammer was mowing down in weight to challenge Mathis at 154, on a mission to become a three-weight world champion herself. The fight, staged in Dessau, Germany, unfortunately ended in controversy. In the fifth round Mathis knocked Hammer down while in a clinch, and the referee disqualified Mathis, claiming she hit Hammer with illegal punches. Hammer was declared the new world champion, but it would only last a few days. Mathis team protested the result, insisting the punches were legal. Two days later the WBF officially agreed that the disqualification was not justified, changed the result to a No-Contest and reinstated Mathis as the champion.

On February 27, 2015 Mathis retained her championship with another close call, when her defense against Oxandia Castillo (13-2-2) from the Dominican Republic was declared a draw. Many ringsiders felt Mathis should consider herself lucky with that result, as Castillo caused her many problems throughout.

Probably realizing that her best days were behind her, Mathis went out with one final super fight, a rematch at welterweight against Braekhus (by then 28-0) she had been hoping for since losing their original encounter. Nineteen months after the draw against Castillo she fought Braekhus in Norway for the undisputed world welterweight championship, but she no longer had enough in the tank to give “The First Lady” a competitive scrap, getting stopped in the second round.

At thirty-nine years old, and more than twenty-one years in the game, Mathis was finally done. With a record of 27-4-1 with 23 KOs, and considered one of the biggest punchers in the sport, she retired, with titles in three weight classes over her distinguished career.