Women’s Boxing and the Underdog Pipeline: The future of boxing cannot be told only through billionaires, promoters and sanctioning bodies. It must also be told through the breakthroughs reshaping the sport — and the hungry, up-and-coming generation fighting for a chance. This chapter focuses on two often-overlooked forces: the beauty of women’s boxing and the beast of the underdog pipeline. Women’s boxing has undergone a revolution in recent years. Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano in 2022 was the watershed moment — a Madison Square Garden sellout that proved women’s boxing could deliver unforgettable drama and big box office. Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions gave women fighters a seat at the table by investing in Serrano and paying purses other promoters wouldn’t touch.

 

But this raises a critical question for the new Zuffa/Saudi partnership. Dana White, to his credit, gave women like Ronda Rousey, Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko the platform to become global stars in the UFC. Turki Alalshikh, by contrast, operates in a culture where women are often treated as second-class citizens, and Saudi shows have largely ignored female fighters. Can Dana convince Turki that women’s boxing is too important to sideline — or will Jake Paul continue to exploit this opening to keep women as the centerpiece of MVP’s promotions, continuing to give them the voice and stage they’ve long deserved?

 

The Underdog Pipeline

 

If women’s boxing is the Beauty, then the Beast is the underdog pipeline — raw, unpolished prospects fighting to break through. Historically, boxing has failed to nurture these fighters. The UFC had The Ultimate Fighter; boxing rarely built similar platforms. That is changing with projects like The Underdog series, designed to showcase rising talent and transform overlooked grinders into tomorrow’s champions. The metaphor fits: today’s rough, hungry fighters may look like beasts, but with the right stage they can transform into heroes. And just as in the Disney tale, the transformation is the story itself — from overlooked to unstoppable.

 

Two Forces That Could Save the Sport

 

Together, the Beauty and the Beast embody boxing’s potential for renewal. Women’s boxing expands the audience; the underdog pipeline ensures there will always be new heroes to root for. Ignore them, and the sport risks becoming a hollow spectacle, dependent on aging stars like Canelo,Crawford, Fury, and Usyk, all already past their primes. Embrace them, and boxing may not only survive but thrive — in ways that even billionaires, monarchs, and monopolists cannot control.

 

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