Jane Couch

The first licensed female boxer from the UK, Jane Couch was born on August 14, 1968. She was known as the ‘Fleetwood Assassin,” her boxing career spanned 14 years and she won five world titles before she announced her retirement on December 1, 2008.

Couch was born in Fleetwood, Lanchashire. Expelled from high school, she went through several years of living with booze and drugs until she turned 26, when she decided to give boxing a try. She defeated a policewoman on her first official fight. She defeated Jamie Johnson in the fourth round in 1995 by TKO before beating Julia Shirley on July that same year. However, Coach’s first major victory was 1996 when she won the WIBF World Welterweight title after defeating Sandra Geiger. She defended this title from Andre DeShong at the Carnival of Champions in 1997.

Couch is trained by Tex Woodward who helps her hone her defense and all-around boxing skills. In 1998 Couch started proceedings against the British Boxing Board of Control when it refused to grant her and other British boxers their licenses based on medical grounds. The court ruled in her favor and soon afterwards Couch sued the BBBC for loss of past income.

Her first match after winning her case was against Simona Lukic from Speyer, Germany, winning the bout after two rounds.

Her last fight was in 2007, when she faced off and lost to Sophie Mathis before she announced her retirement a year later.

Couch retired in 2008, announcing that she wanted to concentrate on a career as a promoter. In 2009 she went on to work with Hatton Promotions as a boxing coordinator.