Maria Johansson is a former female boxer who is the daughter of Sweden's first and, so far, only, world Heavyweight boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 champion, Ingemar Johansson

Ingemar Johansson

Jens Ingemar Johansson was a Swedish boxer and former heavyweight champion of the world. Johansson was the fifth heavyweight champion born outside the United States. In 1959 he defeated Floyd Patterson by TKO in the third round, after flooring Patterson seven times in that round, to win the World...

.

Maria grew up in a boxing family: her father, of course, is a celebrity in Sweden. He and his main rival, Floyd Patterson

Floyd Patterson

Floyd Patterson was an American heavyweight boxer and former undisputed heavyweight champion. At 21, Patterson became the youngest man to win the world heavyweight title. He was also the first heavyweight boxer to regain the title. He had a record of 55 wins 8 losses and 1 draw, with 40 wins by...

, are spoken about on a first name basis in Sweden.

During the early 1990s, a new trend in boxing began: relatives of former world champion boxers began to box professionally themselves. Although Joe Frazier

Joe Frazier

Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....

 had two sons and one daughter, Jackie Frazier-Lyde

Jackie Frazier-Lyde

Jacqueline "Jacqui" Frazier-Lyde is an American lawyer and former professional boxer, who is the daughter of former world Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier. In the year 2000, she shocked the boxing world by announcing that at the age of 38, she would begin participating in the sport of...

, fight. it wasn't until Patterson's own adoptive

Adoption

Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...

 son, Tracy Harris Patterson

Tracy Harris Patterson

Tracy Harris Patterson, , is a former boxer who became a two weight world champion. Born Tracy Harris, he is the adopted son of former Golden Gloves and World Champion Floyd Patterson, turned Golden Gloves success into a solid pro career...

, became a world champion boxer, that the trend began to pick up momentum. When Maria Johansson became a professional boxer, she joined Laila Ali

Laila Ali

Laila Amaria Ali is a retired American professional boxer. She is the daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali from his third wife Veronica Porsche Ali.-Boxing career:...

, Hector Camacho Jr.

Héctor Camacho Jr.

Hector Camacho Jr. is a professional boxer. He is the son of legendary three time world champion Hector Macho Camacho.-Boxing career:...

, Irichelle Duran and Freeda Foreman

Freeda Foreman

Freeda George Foreman is a former American competitor in the sport of Women's boxing, and the daughter of former two-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion George Foreman.-Career and education:...

, among others, as relatives of boxing champions who were active boxers themselves. Later on, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Juan Martin Coggi Jr. and Roberto Duran Jr., among others, would also join the list.

Maria Johansson fought as a Light Heavyweight. She wanted to fight among others, Ali, Foreman and Frazier-Lyde, figuring out that her last name and those of the aforementioned potential rivals, along with their established status in women's boxing

Women's boxing

Women's boxing first appeared in the Olympic Games at a demonstration bout in 1902. For most of the 20th century, however, it was banned in most nations. Its revival was pioneered by the Swedish Amateur Boxing Association, which sanctioned events for women in 1988. The British Amateur Boxing...

, would draw much fan attention.

Johansson was trained by her friend, Mats Persson. On January 18, 2000, she fought her first professional boxing fight, against Karen Frye, in Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

. The fight was televised

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 nationally in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, since the Fox network's executives believed that Johansson could be a future boxing star. She lost to Frye, however, by a four round split decision.

On July 21 of that year, she fought the much more experienced Karen Bill

Karen Bill

Karen Bill is an American multi-sports athlete who from 1999 to 2002 was a professional boxer. She participated in Olympic Games trials for the 1996 Olympics.- Life and career :...

, who had six prior fights. Johansson lost once again, this time by a second round knockout

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

, in another fight held in Las Vegas.

After her second consecutive loss, she decided to retire from women's boxing, compiling a record of 0 wins and 2 losses.

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