ALTONA-born world champion boxer ‘Dirty Diana’ Prazak will fly back to Los Angeles today to defend her World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight title, but says women athletes are still fighting for recognition.
Prazak (pictured), who relocated from Melbourne’s west to the US after winning her first world title in 2011, says she’s the only Australian – male or female – who has beaten the world No.1 on two occasions and won their title from them.
She was named July’s fighter of the month by the Women Boxing Archive Network after defeating the previously unbeaten Frida Wallberg in Sweden.
“She was the WBC world champion as well as the world No. 1 and undefeated.” Prazak said. “And she’s Sweden’s hero.
“[My team and I] weren’t very welcome when we got there and we won by knockout in round eight.
“The unfortunate side of boxing is that we do get hurt in the ring sometimes and she did end up in hospital and had to have brain surgery.”
While in Melbourne, Prazak trained at Victoria’s first female-owned and operated boxing gym in West Footscray, opened by champion boxer Mischa Merz.
Prazak said the lack of recognition for women in sport was still an international problem.
Despite being No. 1 in the world, she has never had a sponsor.
“As a female, we have to overcome so much already in life and as a female athlete, we have to overcome so much more,” Prazak said.
“How often do you read about women’s boxing in the paper?
“A few months ago, Daniel Geale went to Germany and defeated the world champion and he was in every newspaper and on every news channel there was to see.
“I did one better: I became Australia’s only ever world No. 1 yet, because I was female, no one was interested in hearing about it.”
