Huang Wensi fights against Thailand’s Jarusiri Rongmuang for the Asia Female Continental Super Flyweight Championship gold belt in Taipei, Taiwan, Sept. 26, 2018. Image courtesy VOA and used for educational purposes only.
Full Name: Huang Wensi
Birth Date: May 22, 1989
Location: Guangdong, China
Monument Type: plaque/marker
When people think of what a girl may want to be when she grows up, a variety of roles or jobs may come to mind, but they rarely ever include any sports–certainly not boxing. Huang Wensi, born May 22, 1989, in Guangdong, China, puts all of those previous stereotypes and rose to fame as a fantastic female boxer. When she was just a girl, only 14 years old, Huang’s teacher recognized her potential. He recruited her to join their boxing team. She quickly became enthralled in the sport and joined a provincial team in china at the age of 17. She kept up the sport for many years, but unfortunately, at the relative beginning of her career, was forced to retire due to an injury. Being forced to leave the sport devastated her, but prioritizing her physical health would have been difficult in such a contact-oriented sport.
As years went by, she grew further away from boxing. Entering her young adulthood, she still kept up with the sport by watching the occasional broadcasted event, but she stopped participating in the sport for many years. During this time, she found a husband and got married. The couple welcomed their first child, a baby boy, soon after in 2016. Being a mother and newly-married woman, no matter how wonderful it may be, came with extreme challenges for Huang. She, like thousands of other mothers across the globe, fell ill with post-partum depression—a severe depression that develops following childbirth. In an inspiring turn of events, Huang decided that the best way to get back into shape, physically and emotionally, was to return to boxing.
She thus returned to the ring, competing locally and working her way up to the national level. At 29 years old, she reclaimed her life and went on to win the Continental Championship. Later that year, BBC named her one of the 100 Most Inspiring and Influential Women of 2019. Huang’s journey proves that pursuing your passions leads to positive outcomes for yourself and the world as a whole. Huang’s perseverance and persistence gave her the ability to not only prove to herself that she was worthy, but additionally inspire thousands of young women across the globe to take up boxing.
Sources
Reuters.com article
BoxRec.com biography
Queen of the Ring by BBC
BBC’s 100 Most Influential Women 2019