In April, the 33-year-old made German boxing history. Now she is looking forward to a new chapter in her life.
Baby joy for Tina Rupprecht: The undisputed world champion in the atomweight division is pregnant—and is therefore hanging up her boxing gloves. “My active boxing career is officially over because I am starting a new phase in my life. I am going to be a mom,” said the 33-year-old at the Bavarian Sports Awards in Munich, where she received the award in the category “Sporting Moments for Eternity.”
Rupprecht won the unification bout against Japan’s Sumire Yamanaka in Potsdam in April, securing the IBF belt in addition to the WBA, WBO, and WBC titles. Before the Augsburg native, no German boxer, male or female, had ever held the four world championship belts from all the major associations.
The 1.53-meter-tall fighter also defended the prestigious title of boxing bible “The Ring” against Yamanaka. This title is awarded by specialist journalists when, in their opinion, the two best boxers in the world compete against each other. Only Max Schmeling had achieved this as a German fighter in 1930.
“I feel like it’s perfect now. I’ve arrived where I always wanted to be, even higher. I’m done now,” Rupprecht said at the award ceremony: “It’s my life’s work. That’s 21 years in this sport, which I still love. It’s been a long road, but I would do it all again.” A comeback as a mom is “not planned for now.” In 2018, Rupprecht first became world champion in the minimum weight class, but she lost that title in 2023. She then moved down a weight class to atomweight (up to 46.2 kg) and won three titles in 2024 with victories over Fabiana Bytyqi of the Czech Republic and Eri Matsuda of Japan. The greatest moment of her career then followed in Potsdam.
