Women’s boxing will take center stage this weekend. Three major cards will be headlined by three of the best practitioners in women’s boxing, all in different markets worldwide. Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan will battle for the WBO women’s welterweight title at the Madison Square Garden Theater on a card featuring Bruce Carrington and Xander Zayas. Across the Atlantic, Rhiannon Dixon will defend her WBO lightweight title against former WBC super featherweight women’s champion Terri Harper in Sheffield, England. Lastly, in a unique card featuring exclusively women’s bouts, WBC super featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner makes her highly anticipated return against arguably the most dangerous opponent of her career in former WBC women’s lightweight champion Delfine Persoon.
On September 27 at the Trilith Studio Town Stage in Fayetteville, GA, on the undercard of Baumgardner-Persoon, along with seven other women making their professional boxing debut, stands Marine Corps Captain (in the reserves) Stephanie Simon. The fighting Marine will make her professional debut in a four-round contest in the super lightweight division against fellow debuting fighter Claudia Zamora. Initially, Simon was set to face off against a veteran fighter out of Brazil with over 50 fights and debut in a six-round contest, but in boxing, things can change in a matter of days.
The 30-year-old Marine Corps Captain might be one of the more accomplished and unique fighters making their debut on the card. Simon was inducted into the United States Marine Corps Boxing Hall of Fame in 2022 as a three-time collegiate national boxing champion, a five-time amateur national boxing champion, and an Olympic trials champion for 2024. Her journey and introduction to the sweet science came when she decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and join the Marine Corps.
The Prelude To An Unfinished Life Story
“I followed in his footsteps as a Marine,” Simon told FightsATW in an exclusive interview. I’m still in now, but I’m in the reserves so it’s not full-time. I was a full-time active Marine Corps for about five years. Before that, I went to the United States Naval Academy (A Military College) out in Annapolis, Maryland and that’s where I had my introduction to boxing.”
It was at the Naval Academy where her mettle was tested not only through sports but also a hectic schedule requiring a variety of demands from Simon. The fighting Marine has a multi-faceted artistic background that includes playing five instruments: the trumpet, piano, guitar, drums, and bass. She also moonlights as an impersonator of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. So it’s unsurprising that during her time at the Naval Academy, Simon performed nationwide in the Glee club while simultaneously taking courses in chemistry, calculus, physics, thermodynamics, sonar, electrical engineering, and underwater acoustics.
How Simon was introduced to boxing was a matter of circumstance. At the Naval Academy, during the summer, students have an assortment of sports to choose from, but during the academic school year, they are required to do a semester of either boxing or wrestling. Simon has a vast and impressive wrestling background as the number one ranked All-American wrestler in her weight class and is a Washington State wrestling champion. However, at the time of her tenure at the Naval Academy, there weren’t any Division-1 schools, which included the Academy with a women’s wrestling program.
“Towards the beginning of my naval academy career, I realized quickly this wrestling thing’s not gonna work out,” Simon explained how she ended up boxing. However, I discovered that if I took boxing over the summer, I could validate the class and not have to take it during the year. So I decided to do boxing for the summer activity/sport and fell in love with it by accident. And that’s where I got introduced to boxing because it was actually mandatory for all the students to do it freshman year.”
The Rivalry At The Naval Academy
The amateurs are usually a chapter in a fighter’s career where you learn to face a plethora of differing styles. As a result, it’s seldom that genuine rivalries emerge out of the amateurs. Simon’s time at the Naval Academy saw her participate in an annual event called the Brigade Championships. An event deeply rooted in the traditions and history of the Academy, drawing crowds of more than 4,000 fellow students, alumni, and more.
“Every year, we do this brigade championship, and everybody gets excited,” said Simon. “4,000 people show up to these Brigade Championships every year, and it’s an event. They have people in tuxedos and gowns on the floor [level], and they’re betting on these fights. It’s such a cool thing, but it’s also something that’s deeply rooted in our history.
“Maybe on paper, it doesn’t look like a big deal, but in our school, if you win a brigade title and championship, that makes you like legit as a fighter, and you’re given a certain amount of respect because of just what it means.”
At this event, Simon would find herself head-to-head with her rival and fellow student, Sam Glaeser. The two women previously fought twice, with Glaeser coming out on top in two controversial split-decision victories. By the time they met for their third encounter, Glaeser was a three-time Brigade Championships winner, and as a freshman, she defeated a senior at the school. Simon, at this point, had captured two amateur National Championships. With a victory, Glaeser would become the first woman to win four Brigade Championships, and Simon had never won a Brigade Championship.
The third fight was highly anticipated and was even featured on an episode of “60 Minutes Sports”. As the underdog, Simon would quell all doubters, winning a unanimous decision over her rival, establishing herself as a Brigade and National Collegiate Champion.
“When it came to the third time that we ended up fighting, at this point, I had won two national championships,” stated Simon about her bouts with Glaeser. Sam had three brigade championship titles. So it was like a huge rivalry because in both years that she had won, it was a split decision. I had a lot of pressure on me, but not as much pressure as Sam [had]. If she won that fight, she would’ve been the first female Brigade champion to win for four years in a row.
“I ended up winning. It was a super awesome moment at the time. You know, you’re 19, 20 years old, it’s like such a big moment for you. Looking back when you’re in the moment, it feels like the biggest day of your life.”
Utilizing Lessons Learned From The Marines For Boxing
Heading into her first professional bout, Simon takes the lessons she learned as a Marine. The Marine Corps has a history of success in boxing, with fighters like Ken Norton, Leon Spinks, and, most recently, Jamel Herring making a name for themselves. Simon believes the knowledge and experience of being a Marine translate to boxing in the mental aspects of showing patience, an ability to adjust, dedication, and tactics.
Simon described how a flank or flanking is essentially the same as a feint in boxing. Using a terrain model to track the enemy’s likeliest course of action is similar to taking advantage of an opponent’s weakness while knowing their strength.
“I had to transfer the level of patience I learned in the Marine Corps into boxing,” said Simon. “And sometimes, I mean, even when you relate the tactics to it, there are a lot of things that go hand in hand with military tactics and boxing. If one route we’re on doesn’t work, we have an alternate route; we always have a way to win.”
Simon continued, “That’s how Marines think. We operate in a way where we think and strategize in a way that always ends up with us winning the fight. And in the boxing ring, it’s the same thing, the same mindset. You are always strategizing plan A, B, and C. There’s always a way to win, even when the person in front of you might be better, stronger and faster. If you adapt first or quicker than your opponent, you win the fight, period.”
Amateur vs. Pro
Simon is a student of the boxing game. Canelo Alvarez and Gervonta Davis are a few of the fighters she has studied. Not only taking into account what they do but what they don’t to highlight the difference between professional and amateur boxing. Simon views the amateur boxing game as more of a matter of conditioning than skill. Fights can be won in the amateurs by simply throwing a higher volume of punches. It’s quantity over quality.
“Canelo and Tank do it all the time,” said Simon. “They’re not gonna throw a billion gazillion punches. They’re just gonna do enough to see how you react to certain things and then, halfway through the fight, knock you out. To me, the biggest difference between the pros and the amateurs: you have to use your mind. You have to be conscious; you have to be aware. You can’t just go in, throw a billion punches, and win three rounds, and that’s it, which you can do in the amateurs. Some of the amateurs that I’ve seen that are successful are actually not great boxers. They just have very good conditioning.”
California Dreamin’
In preparation for turning professional, Simon moved to the hotbed of combat sports, California. The state has more boxing gyms than any other state by a wide margin. According to IBIS World, California has more than 5,000 active boxing gyms, with Texas and Florida at a distant second and third. California is the premier location for a fighter looking for better sparring or a competitive environment to enhance their skill set or test their current level.
Simon now trains under her coach, Shadeed Suluki, at the Matchroom Churchill Gym in Santa Monica. The gym and location allow Simon to work and spar with more experienced fighters, including former world champions. One of them is former undisputed women’s welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus. Â Another advantage of relocating to California for Simon is its proximity to Las Vegas. Simon frequently attends fights in Las Vegas to get into the mindset and visualize what it will be like to fight under the bright lights as a professional.
“One of the biggest reasons I moved out here was because, from my research and experience, Southern California is an incredible environment for the pro boxing scene,” Simon explained. “There are just a lot of good gyms and incredible fighters here. As I’ve gotten to know people and networking and have been traveling a little bit around the area to get work, I’ve already been in the ring and sparred with former world champions.
“And that’s the other thing, too; I love that Southern California is a four-hour drive if you leave early from Vegas. So I’ve been going to Vegas regularly and getting my mindset into the pro boxing world, trying to visualize it, and pitching myself in that ring.”
MMA & Boxing
Simon’s background ventures into more than just boxing and wrestling. She also has a blue belt in Brazilian jiujitsu and has done TaeKwonDo for over seven years. With her unique framework encompassing multiple martial arts, it’s no wonder Simon has thought of doing MMA and boxing. Over the last decade, there have been a few examples of boxers turning to MMA. One of the most prominent is Holly Holm, a former UFC women’s bantamweight champion recently inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2022. Holm’s final boxing match was in 2013.
Regarding current active boxers who also participate in MMA, Amanda Serrano and Claressa Shields are the most significant examples for Simon. In 2018, Serrano made her MMA debut, fighting twice in the sport along with one boxing match. Three years later, Serrano fought an unprecedented three boxing matches and one MMA bout. Shields followed behind Serrano and fought in an MMA and boxing match this year.
Simon has aspirations to follow the lead of Serrano and Shields as she believes her boxing and wrestling background gives her an advantage in MMA that would be difficult for opponents to overcome. The only issue that could arise is missing the opportunity to sign with a major promoter when focusing on more than one sport. “I do admire them for that because they have proven that it’s possible,” said Simon when asked about Serrano and Shields. “In my mind, it would be amazing to debut in boxing and MMA within the same six months. Now, if opportunities are missed because of MMA, I don’t know if that would be a wise move.”
When asked how she would do in MMA, Simon responded in confidence. “My striking alone. And the thing is, too, in MMA, what we’ve come to see is that wrestling, yes, is one of the biggest dominant martial arts forms in MMA, but now a lot of fighters are incredible strikers with incredible takedown defense. And they can win belts in the UFC with really good takedown defense.”
Simon’s Style Going Into Her Pro Debut
While a venture in MMA could be in Simon’s future, her main focus is on her boxing debut. With her artistic and musical background, she plans to demonstrate a style encompassing various skills. As an amateur, Simon’s style resembled more of a brawler coming forward and applying pressure on her opponents. Due to the amateur fights being so short, Simon couldn’t truly display her skills as a boxer or, as she puts it, implement her personality as a fighter.
“The style that I plan to implement is the old school footwork where you’re dancing around the ring, you’re light on your feet, constant movement,” said Simon. “I’ve always been heavy-handed. I’ve always been someone who comes forward and wants to kill you, but I haven’t always showcased my footwork and my abilities to dance and move around the ring. I can do things there that I truly don’t think people have seen in a woman fighter. My goal is to implement my personality.”I’m a dancer; I’m an entertainer. I do Michael Jackson impersonations. I play five instruments. I sing. I have all these different abilities and talents, and I’m an artistic kind of person.”
Final Thoughts
Fighters, of all athletes, have the most unique journeys. They come from all walks of life and aren’t typically produced by a societal athletic farm system. Boxing, in particular, can be the Wild West. Some people thrive in the environment, but most falter. Simon’s time in the Marine Corps has forged her resolve, teaching her valuable lessons. Combined with her rhythmic background in music and ability to adapt to new circumstances and setbacks, she has the potential to be a name in women’s boxing and combat sports in general. The first chapter of that journey begins on September 27.
Discover more from Fights Around The World
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
