How 'First Lady' Braekhus ended Norway's boxing ban

Few athletes person earned a nickname arsenic cleanable arsenic Cecilia 'The First Lady' Braekhus.

She is nan first female successful history to unify each 4 belts, nan first to header a master show successful Norway and a combatant whose power helped scrap a 33-year prohibition connected nan athletics - for some men and women - successful her homeland.

On Saturday successful Lillestrom, nan 44-year-old trailblazer will measurement into nan ringing 1 last clip to look Slovenia's Ema Kozin for nan WBC and WBO light-middleweight titles.

Win, lose, aliases draw, Braekhus will motion disconnected from a profession that has reshaped some women's boxing and Norwegian sport.

"The last doorbell had to beryllium successful Norway," she tells BBC Sport.

"The state and nan group who took down a prohibition connected master boxing truthful I could travel location - they've been nan backbone of my career."

Born successful Colombia and raised successful Norway, Braekhus spent her profession breaking down barriers - from fighting misogyny successful nan gym to silencing critics connected her measurement to becoming nan undisputed queen of nan sport.

She will time off pinch 3 Guinness World Records: nan longest-reigning female world champion (11 years and 154 days), nan longest spell arsenic an undisputed champion (five years and 337 days) and nan longest unbeaten streak by a female champion (36 fights).

Yet, Braekhus' proudest feat cannot beryllium measured successful numbers aliases belts.

Braekhus was adopted from an orphanage successful Cartagena astatine nan property of 2 and grew up successful Sandviken, a neighbourhood of Bergen.

In her early teens she turned to kickboxing, against her parents' wishes, earlier moving into boxing astatine 21.

She mislaid conscionable 5 of 80 amateur bouts earlier deciding to move master - but that ambition was analyzable by nan truth that pro boxing successful Norway had been outlawed since 1981, punishable by up to 3 months successful jail.

Undeterred, she moved to Germany successful her twenties to build a profession abroad. She was nan only female successful nan gym.

"In our promotional institution location were 30, 40 fighters, each men and 1 woman. And I had to beryllium each azygous time amended than each nan guys," she recalls.

"At that clip location was this thought that women couldn't container aliases waste boxing unless they could return disconnected their apparel to look very sexy.

"A batch of women were decidedly pressured into that."

Even arsenic she established herself successful Germany, nan dream of fighting successful Norway ne'er near her.

Week aft week she trained, past flew location connected Fridays to meet politicians and journalists earlier heading backmost into camp.

"It was a batch of work," she says. "I had world title belts to take sides too. But that's wherever nan subject comes successful - I was conscionable laser-focused."

Public sentiment successful Norway was against her astatine first. "In nan opening location was beardown condemnation of boxing," she explains.

"So galore myths - that it was mindless violence, that it would corrupt young people. My occupation was to coming nan facts."

The turning constituent came successful September 2014, erstwhile Braekhus faced Ivana Habazin successful Copenhagen for nan chance to go nan first undisputed women's world champion.

Every conflict carries pressure, but this 1 was different. For Braekhus, nan early of Norwegian boxing itself was astatine stake.

"That triumph was decidedly a large portion of nan puzzle," she says. "If I didn't person those belts, that dream of fighting successful Norway was gone. Unfortunately, that's conscionable really it is."

The group began to spot nan discipline, nan mindset, nan training.

"Norway loves a winner," Braekhus says, "and erstwhile I became undisputed, they saw nan personification down nan gloves."

Three months later, parliament voted 54 to 48 to assistance it.

Braekhus was there. "I was successful nan basement," she says. "It was close, very adjacent until nan past vote.

"And past we sewage nan decision. We went up and had immoderate cake. That was beautiful incredible."

In 2016, she headlined successful Norway. The arena was sold out. The Prime Minister was successful nan crowd.

In her 19th consecutive world title fight, Braekhus stopped Anne Sophie Mathis successful 2 rounds to enactment undisputed and amended to 29-0.

It was nan homecoming of each homecomings.

While pioneers for illustration Jane Couch, nan first licensed female boxer successful nan United Kingdom, fought to make women's boxing visible, Braekhus carved a different way - she brought nan athletics backmost to an full nation.

Now she knows it is clip to measurement aside. She has nary regrets and is excited to spot nan maturation of women's boxing, arsenic counterparts for illustration Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor gain six-figure salary days.

"I americium ace proud of my communicative truthful I wouldn't wish thing different," Braekhus says.

"We didn't get thing backmost [when I started], it was conscionable nan emotion of boxing.

"The level was truthful precocious and I americium truthful proud erstwhile I look back. Incredible. Everyone had jobs, nary 1 was getting rich."

"I've been successful some camps now," she adds.

"I've been location erstwhile nan roadworthy was paved and I've been present coming erstwhile it's beautiful overmuch paved for nan adjacent generation."

Already bound for nan Hall of Fame, Braekhus wants 1 last connection connected Saturday: to discontinue arsenic a two-weight world champion.

"There are 2 belts connected nan line. Ema Kozin is going to conflict to nan end. This has to group nan modular for everything I've been through," she says.

And aft that? "I'm benignant of done," she admits. "I want to spot nan world extracurricular of nan boxing ringing excessively while I'm still young and healthy."

But nan modulation won't beryllium simple.

"First I will return immoderate clip away," Braekhus adds. "It's for illustration a break-up - you conscionable request immoderate distance. After that we tin beryllium friends.

"It's going to beryllium very difficult to opportunity goodbye."

For personification who has spent her life defying nan odds, possibly nan hardest conflict will beryllium learning really to unrecorded without being a boxer.

After all, immoderate break-ups are tougher to get complete than others.