By Thomas Gerbasi
One-half of the third title fight on Saturday’s Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz card at Barclays Center, Alicia Napoleon – who faces Femke Hermans for the vacant WBA female super middleweight title - always has a lot more on the line than her male counterparts.
She still has to train for the fight, promote the fight and fight the fight, but when she steps between the ropes, she’s not just representing herself, but every woman who wants the same opportunities the men of the sport get.
“It’s exhausting, yet liberating at the same time,” Napoleon said. “You’re making a way for women that believe in you and that hate you. But no matter what, you’ve got to break down this door. One, for yourself and two, for the rest that are gonna follow. And if nobody sets that tone, it’s just never gonna happen. The more people see you stepping in a positive direction and doing something for a good cause, it becomes contagious, and eventually others will come on board. But you’ve gotta make noise and let people know you exist and you’ve got to stand up for something that’s good.”
A renaissance woman who counts gym ownership, singing, painting and dancing among her current activities, the 32-year-old Long Islander still puts most of her focus on the sweet science, where she has compiled an 8-1 (5 KOs) record since turning pro in 2014 after an amateur career that saw her pick up one National and two New York Golden Gloves titles. And that dedication to the sport won’t change anytime soon.
“Ever since I was a child, I loved contact and competitive sports,” Napoleon said. “It’s in my blood, I love to fight and I think boxing gives me some hope and discipline and strength to persevere and to gain that endurance that I need, not only in the sport, but in every other avenue in life. If I know that I can be tested and achieve these great things in this sport, there’s nothing I can’t conquer outside.”
Her story is a familiar one among the ladies of boxing, and her current place in the game also mirrors that of her peers. In short, every fight is a fight for equality, not just for a win or a belt, and that battle is an uphill one with promoters and networks, even though Napoleon’s promoter, Lou DiBella, has been one of the few high-profile players in the game to dedicate a portion of his roster and fight card slots to female fighters.
As for the rest, that’s been a hard sell.
“They have an old school mentality,” Napoleon said. “I feel like they believe women still have a certain place, and it’s not in the ring. It’s almost like pride over money. It’s ridiculous and it needs to stop.”
It’s exactly that, and it’s forced high-profile New York boxers like Heather Hardy and Amanda Serrano to test the waters in mixed martial arts, a sport that has embraced women’s fighting. That’s a reality not lost on “The Empress.”
“I think boxing needs to make that platform for women like MMA does,” she said. “MMA is very successful with the women, and boxing can be just as successful if they take that chance and do it. Put women on every single card that’s getting exposure, put them in a main event. We have something to fight for. We’re tenacious and we’re still fighting for something, so we’re exciting every time that we’re in the ring.”
Napoleon does have a good chance to make some noise, though. While admitting that she’s a natural super welterweight, she is fighting for a super middleweight belt this weekend, and 168 pounds just happens to be the division where two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields holds two world titles. Sounds like perfect timing to get into those sweepstakes.
“Fights like that are definitely going to come,” Napoleon said. “At the end of the day, I leave everything in the hands of my trainers and my management to guide me. I listen to everything they say – what I have to do for training, who they want me to fight, what we’re ready for, what they want to bring to the table. So I’m ready to fight anybody whenever they want me to do it. That’s not a problem. If they say I’m ready, let’s do this. Bring me the fight.”
Sounds like the future is about to get very interesting for Miss Napoleon.
“It’s exciting,” she said of this weekend’s title fight. “It’s one step closer to my goal. My goal is to win all these belts and leave a legacy and be one of the faces of women’s boxing. I want to break down those doors and set the tone and the momentum for women in sports in general so we have the opportunities. It’s exciting, it’s liberating, it’s a great start of my contract and on a card of this magnitude. But it’s still not enough. I want TV fights, I want full exposure, I want the full, equal opportunity that the men get because we sacrifice just as much, if not more, and we deserve it.”