Cecilia Brækhus Pays Tribute to Jane Couch, Nods to Her Own Journey

Former undisputed women’s welterweight champion Cecilia Brækhus expressed delight at the news of trailblazer Jane Couch being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Brækhus has faced her own battles over the years, including helping legalize boxing in Norway and becoming the first woman to fight on HBO Boxing.

Brækhus (37-2-1, 9 KOs), 42, attended Friday’s 360 Promotions event in Santa Ynez, California, where she shared her thoughts on the recent announcement.

“Wonderful, she paved the way,” Brækhus said of Couch. “She did such a tremendous job. I think it is very important to look back at women who came before us, like Couch. There are so many women who contributed without getting any recognition at all. We can’t thank them enough.”

Brækhus played a pivotal role in legalizing boxing in Norway, dedicating a significant portion of her career to the cause.

“That was very difficult,” Brækhus said. “It was a six-year-long process of finding allies among politicians. Tons of paperwork. I had to fly from our training camp in Germany back to Norway on the weekends to appear in front of committees.”

Brækhus sold out her homecoming fight when she stopped Anne Sophie Mathis in two rounds in Oslo, Norway, in 2016. Known as “The First Lady,” Brækhus made her HBO Boxing debut against Kali Reis at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, on the undercard of a Gennady Golovkin-Vanes Martirosyan main event on May 5, 2018. She was also featured in HBO’s final boxing broadcast, defeating Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes in December 2018.

“Tom [Loeffler] was a big part of this, getting the first fight on HBO, which was huge,” Brækhus said. “We had a million people watching this fight. For me, I was very happy but also a little bit sad because I think it should have been much earlier. I learned that Laila Ali was fighting on HBO, but her fights were never shown on HBO.”

Reflecting on her achievement with the now-defunct boxing property, Brækhus offered a frank assessment.

“We really shouldn’t have been the first,” she said.