Elizabeth Wilkinson-Stokes (1700s)

Elizabeth Wilkinson-Stokes was born and lived in Clerkenwell in the 1700s. She was an English bare-knuckle champion and is known as the first female boxer. Her boxing career lasted from 1722 to 1728, starting with the first-ever female prizefight in London in 1722.

When she married famous boxer James Stokes, Wilkinson-Stokes became a regular fixture at his amphitheatre on Islington Road. She revolutionised women’s fighting, both by organising serious and well-organised fights, but also by insisting that fighters wear “cloth jackets, short petticoats coming just below the knee, Holland drawers, white stockings and pumps.” At that time it was more common for women to fight topless, and by promoting comfortable attire, Wilkinson-Stokes established the fighters as serious athletes. Wilkinson-Stokes was also well know for trash talking.

Wilkinson-Stokes never accepted the restraints that society put on her, and proved the strength and athletic prowess of women, inspiring generations to come.