Helen Joseph (born May 1989) is a Nigerian professional boxer who has challenged twice for the IBF female featherweight title in 2012 and 2015.

Helen Joseph
BornMay 1989
Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
Other namesIron Lady
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Reach65 in (165 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights24
Wins17
Wins by KO10
Losses5
Draws2

Professional career

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Joseph made her professional debut on 10 January 2004, scoring a first-round technical knockout (TKO) victory against Margaret Ibiam in Lagos, Nigeria.[2]

She compiled a record of 9–0 (5 KOs) before capturing her first professional title, defeating Mable Mulenga via unanimous decision (UD) for the vacant WIBF Intercontinental bantamweight title[3] on 21 June 2008 at the Nationalist Stadium in Lusaka, Zambia.[4]

Joseph went 1–1–1 in her next three fights before challenging for her first world title against IBF female featherweight champion Dahiana Santana on 17 December 2012 at the Dominican Fiesta Hotel & Casino in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Joseph failed in her attempt, losing via ten-round UD.[5]

After scoring a first-round knockout (KO) victory against Marianna Gulyas on 3 May 2013,[6] capturing the IBF Intercontinental female featherweight title,[7] Joseph did not compete for two years. Attempts were made in 2014 to schedule a rematch with Santana for the IBF title. However, Santana decided to relinquish the title in February 2014. IBF officials assured Joseph that she would get her shot at the title.[8] The opportunity eventually came against Jennifer Han on 19 September 2015 at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas. In a fight which saw Joseph score a knockdown in the third round—which Han claimed was a slip—Joseph went on to suffer her third professional defeat, losing by UD with the judges' scorecards reading 98–91, 98–92, and 97–92.[7]

She bounced back from defeat with two stoppage wins—a second-round TKO against Namely Emilia in November 2016[9] and a second-round KO against Shannon O'Connell in July 2017[10]—before defeating Elizabeth Anderson with a second-round stoppage via corner retirement (RTD) on 4 November 2017, capturing the WBF Intercontinental female bantamweight title.[11]

Her next bout came against Tyrieshia Douglas for the UBF female super-flyweight title on 29 June 2018 at Martin's West in Woodlawn, Maryland. After the ten rounds were completed the bout was ruled a majority draw (MD), with one judge scoring the bout 98–92 in favour of Joseph while the other two scored it even at 95–95.[12]

Following two UD victories—Edina Kiss on 3 August[13] and Martina Horgasz on 29 August[14]—Joseph faced former two-time lightweight world champion Delfine Persoon three months later in November, losing by UD.[15] Joseph suffered her second consecutive defeat in July 2020, losing by UD against Mikaela Mayer.[16]

Professional boxing record

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24 fights 17 wins 5 losses
By knockout 10 0
By decision 7 5
Draws 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
24 Loss 17–5–2   Mikaela Mayer UD 10 14 Jul 2020   MGM Grand Conference Center, Paradise, Nevada, US
23 Loss 17–4–2   Delfine Persoon UD 10 11 Nov 2019   Versluys Dôme, Ostend, Belgium
22 Win 17–3–2   Martina Horgasz UD 6 29 Aug 2019   Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, US
21 Win 16–3–2   Edina Kiss UD 6 3 Aug 2019   Barclays Center, New York City, New York, US
20 Draw 15–3–2   Tyrieshia Douglas MD 1 (6), 1:13 29 Jun 2018   Martin's West, Woodlawn, Maryland, US For UBF female super-flyweight title
19 Win 15–3–1   Elizabeth Anderson RTD 2 (10), 2:00 4 Nov 2017   Buckhead Fight Club, Atlanta, Georgia, US Won vacant WBF Intercontinental female bantamweight title
18 Win 14–3–1   Shannon O'Connell KO 2 (8), 0:55 29 Jul 2017   The Famous Fortitude Gym, Brisbane, Australia
17 Win 13–3–1   Namely Emilia TKO 2 (8) 27 Nov 2016   Seconds Out Boxing Gymnasium, Accra, Ghana
16 Loss 12–3–1   Jennifer Han UD 10 19 Sep 2015   Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, US For vacant IBF featherweight title
15 Win 12–2–1   Marianna Gulyas KO 1 (10), 0:28 3 May 2013   Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra, Ghana Won IBF Intercontinental female featherweight title
14 Loss 11–2–1   Dahiana Santana UD 10 17 Dec 2012   Dominican Fiesta Hotel & Casino, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic For IBF female featherweight title
13 Draw 11–1–1   Unathi Myekeni PTS 10 24 Mar 2012   Carnival City Casino, Brakpan, South Africa
12 Win 11–1   Namely Emilia TKO 6 (6), 2:41 23 Sep 2011   Accra, Ghana
11 Loss 10–1   Unathi Myekeni UD 10 28 Aug 2009   Orient Theatre, East London, South Africa
10 Win 10–0   Mable Mulenga UD 10 21 Jun 2008   Nationalist Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia Won WIBF Intercontinental bantamweight title
9 Win 9–0   Ameley Turkson PTS 6 28 Jul 2007   Maison du Peuple, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
8 Win 8–0   Kahide Kazeem PTS 6 5 Aug 2006   Maison du Peuple, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
7 Win 7–0   Yarkor Chavez Annan PTS 4 3 Jun 2006   Lomé, Togo
6 Win 6–0   Mariam Joseph KO 2 (6) 15 Oct 2005   Ibadan, Nigeria
5 Win 5–0   Busola Obi KO 4 (6) 25 Jun 2005   Lagos, Nigeria
4 Win 4–0   Toyin Omorayi PTS 4 29 Jan 2005   Nigeria
3 Win 3–0   Esther Haruna KO 3 (6) 16 Jun 2004   Lagos, Nigeria
2 Win 2–0   Ndidi Okafor KO 3 (4) 10 Mar 2004   Lagos, Nigeria
1 Win 1–0   Margaret Ibiam TKO 1 (4) 10 Jan 2004   Lagos, Nigeria

References

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  1. ^ "Boxing record for Helen Joseph". BoxRec.
  2. ^ "BoxRec: Helen Joseph vs. Margaret Ibiam". BoxRec. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Mable Mulenga: Fight details". Sporte Note. Retrieved 6 September 2020.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "BoxRec: Helen Joseph vs. Mable Mulenga". BoxRec. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  5. ^ McGrady, Jim (19 December 2012). "Women's Boxing: mid-week update". The Boxing Tribune. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  6. ^ "BoxRec: Helen Joseph vs. Marianna Gulyas". BoxRec. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  7. ^ a b Finger, David (20 September 2015). "Han Dominates Joseph, wins IBF female belt". www.ibf-usba-boxing.com. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Shocking! Santana vacates world title to avoid Helen Joseph". Modern Ghana. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  9. ^ "BoxRec: Helen Joseph vs. Namely Emilia II". BoxRec. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  10. ^ Dornu-Leiku, Prince (29 July 2017). "Results: Helen Joseph KOs Shannon O'Connell In Two Rounds In Australia — Boxing News". Boxing News 24/7. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  11. ^ "BoxRec: Helen Joseph vs. Elizabeth Anderson". BoxRec. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  12. ^ Kemp, Jay (30 June 2018). "Tyrieshia Douglas Retains her UBF Super Flyweight Title After Contested Majority Draw Decision Against Helen Joseph". Women of Boxing. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  13. ^ "BoxRec: Helen Joseph vs. Edina Kiss". BoxRec. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  14. ^ "BoxRec: Helen Joseph vs. Martina Horgasz". BoxRec. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  15. ^ Donovan, Jake (11 November 2019). "Delfine Persoon Beats Helen Joseph, Eyes Katie Taylor Rematch". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Mikaela Mayer dominates Helen Joseph, wants title shot". ESPN.com. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
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