Remember when Ronda Rousey graced cover of boxing magazine, The Ring?
Remember when Ronda Rousey graced cover of boxing magazine, The Ring?
When former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey appeared on the cover of ‘The Ring’ magazine, the mixed martial artist made history. Not only was Rousey the second female to grace the covered in the magazine’s more than 90-year lifetime, but she became the first MMA fighter to do so as well.
Although labeled as the January 2016 issue, the Rousey cover hit newsstands one day after she was defeated by former boxer Holly Holm, a two-time Ring Magazine Female Fighter of the Year, in the main event of UFC 193 in November 2015. Holm, never made the cover during her boxing tenure.
Rousey being on the cover drew criticism from boxing traditionalists. First, there was the fact that only one other woman has ever been plastered on the cover. The only other time a woman has been featured on The Ring Magazine’s cover was in 1978 with Cathy “Cat” Davis.
The second item that upset many was the fact that the magazine’s premise was boxing, not mixed martial arts. Lastly, there was the fact that Rousey, even as an MMA champion, was never considered to be a ‘boxer’. Rousey entered mixed martial arts after finding success in the sport of Judo.
Examples of Criticism
https://twitter.com/Zandman75/status/659000943460118528
“Why is she on ring magazine tho shouldn’t she be on “octagon magazine” or some sh-t.”
“This must be some kind of joke.”
“What about the current women champions? Why put this hype job from another sport on the cover?”
“Lets keep The Ring ‘the bible of boxing’ a BOXING MAGAZINE . Leave that UFC sh-t for their own magazine. F-cking disgrace.”
“Wtf, dumbest sh-t I’ve seen a boxing magazine do.”
Rousey would of course be knocked out by Holm at the UFC 193 event in Australia. She went into hiding of sorts, later coming forth that she had thoughts of suicide and felt that the fans and media had turned on her.
The former UFC champion appeared in the octagon for the first time in more than a year this past Friday, December 30, in the main event at UFC 207. This time it took only 48 seconds for current champion Amanda Nunes to dismantle Rousey, picking her apart on the feet.
Although she has two knockouts to her credit in MMA, Rousey’s boxing has often been criticized.
She works with coach Edmond Tarverdyan, who has worked with several notable boxers over the years, including Vic Darchinyan.
Rousey’s own mother has called Tarverdyan a fraud after the Holm loss and said that he was not good for her daughter.
Despite the criticism, Rousey stuck by his side, and after the Nunes TKO, fans wondered if her mother had been right all along.
About ‘The Ring’
The Ring was founded in 1922 by Nat Fleischer. The first issue, dated February 15, 1922, was 24 pages and cost 20 cents. The magazine did cover professional wrestling for a while but as the sport turned more towards ‘entertainment,’ the magazine eliminated wrestling to focus solely on boxing.
