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Catherine Phiri
Photograph via Wikimedia Commons
Sport Landmark

Catherine Phiri

born 1990

WBC female bantamweight champion of the world

Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Zambia Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.

Why they are here

She sold vegetables in Lusaka's markets as a girl and became the first Zambian woman to win a world boxing title, taking the WBC bantamweight belt in 2016.

Catherine Phiri grew up in Lusaka selling produce in the market and took up boxing as a teenager at a time when very few Zambian women did.

She won the WBC female bantamweight world championship in 2016, beating the Mexican YazmΓ­n Rivas, and became the first woman from Zambia to hold a world boxing title. She had previously held Commonwealth and African titles and had been named Zambia's sportsperson of the year.

Her victory was received in Zambia as a national event, and she has since been among the country's most visible athletes, campaigning for support for women's boxing and for the young fighters coming behind her.
Sources

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