Photography by Richard Moore

Ramla Ali

Boxer

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE MORE OF IN YOUR INDUSTRY? LESS OF?

In sports, I want to see more women supporting other women. That means turning on the TV to watch females compete. TV executives, broadcasters, sports promoters, and sponsors only take notice when they see an audience. It’s all well and good, publications and women saying they support female athletes’ call for equal pay, but they don’t actually buy tickets to see them play, or watch them on TV, which is much more important.

WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT WERE YOU KNOWN FOR?

I was known for being overweight. I weighed a little over 178 pounds when I was at my heaviest, and then when I began competing in boxing and Muay Thai, I was fighting at 112 pounds.

““It’s all well and good, people saying they support female athletes’ call for equal pay, but buying tickets to see them play, or watching them on TV, is much more important.””

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS YOUR BIGGEST CONTRIBUTION TO CULTURE?

No professional fighter has ever had the creative directors of some of the biggest fashion houses in the world—Maria Grazia Chiuri at Christian Dior, Ib Kamara at Off-White, and Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen—personally design boxing outfits. Outside of this, I’m probably best known for making history by becoming the first Muslim woman to win an amateur British title, and the first to compete for Somalia in world championships and the Olympics.

WHAT’S SOMETHING PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT YOU?

That I’m a violent person. Outside of a professional boxing ring I’ve never had a fight. I would be too scared to do anything if I was short-changed at the corner shop.

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