One of the greatest female fighters to ever lace up a pair of gloves has confirmed her final act.
Cecilia Braekhus is set to challenge unified WBC and WBO junior middleweight titlist Ema Kozin, the legendary former pound-for-pound confirmed on Friday. Their scheduled 10-round title fight is due to headline an October 4 show from Nova Spektrum in Lillestrom, Norway.
“One last fight, one final legacy,” Braekhus declared, confirming that the event will mark her last ever fight. “October 4th, everything I’ve ever fought for comes to an end.”
Braekhus, 43, is originally from Cartagena, Colombia but was raised in Bergen, Norway from the age of two.
Kozin, 24-1-1 (12 KOs), will attempt the first defense of her unified title reign. The 26-year-old Slovenian has not fought since her November 2023 title winning effort over Hannah Rankin in Manchester, England.
Her inactivity was called into question by the WBO, who . Kozin was summoned by the sanctioning body to clarify why she’s yet to fight in more than a year.
No resolution was ever posted by the WBO, though Kozin still holds its 154lbs title as well as the WBC belt.
Braekhus, 38-2-1 (9 KOs), holds the interim version of the WBC junior middleweight title.
Kozin’s lone defeat came to Claressa Shields, 16-0 (3 KOs), the sport’s current pound-for-pound queen. Shields defended her unified middleweight championship via 10-round shutout in their February 2022 meeting in Cardiff, Wales.
Three straight wins have followed for Kozin, ahead of her next battle with boxing royalty.
Shields is among the very few with a valid claim to be the sport’s best women ever. Braekhus was once the runaway favorite in that category, and also the first-ever female boxer to fully unify the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles in a single division.
The feat was part of a historic 11-year welterweight title reign which dated back to her March 2009 WBC/WBA title win over Vinni Skovgaard in Kiel, Germany. She entered the history books with her September 2014 win over Ivana Habazin. The night saw Braekhus become the first woman ever to fully unify all four major titles in a single division.
Her six-year uninterrupted stay as undisputed champion remains the record for any boxer – regardless of gender – in the four-belt era. Braekhus’ reign ended in an August 2020 defeat to Jessica McCaskill, against whom she suffered a repeat loss in their March 2021 rematch.
Braekhus is 2-0-1 since that night. The draw came in a failed bid to unseat then WBA/WBO 154lbs titlist Terri Harper in their October 2023 meeting in Sheffield, England.
While not a full-blown title win, Braekhus picked up a secondary version of the WBC belt in her most recent win. Braekhus, now 43, did so after she outpointed Maricela Cornejo last August 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In addition to her record-setting undisputed title reign, Braekhus broke the gender barrier in a May 2018 victory over Kali Reis. Their 10-round championship clash marked the first-ever women’s bout to air on HBO. She also held the honor as the headlining act for the cable giant’s final boxing card in December 2018.
The upcoming title challenge against Kozin will see Braekhus’ first fight back in Norway since October 2017.
Her sixth-round knockout of Mikaela Lauren – held in Stokke – was also the last win inside the distance for Braekhus. The fight capped a four-fight stretch in her home country, which began in October 2016, less than two years after the sport was legalized in Norway – in large part thanks to her influence.
It will now play host to the final act in a career undoubtedly destined for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The one remaining question is whether she can add to an already established legacy as an industry trailblazer and one of the sport’s best-ever participants.
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on and .
