A woman’s place is in the ring: Beatriz Ferreira’s Olympic career

The first Brazilian to compete in an Olympic boxing final and to win a world championship, Beatriz Ferreira is one of the greatest boxers in the history of Brazilian sport. She knows the story of the fighter who inherited her father’s talent and took the traditional boxing of Bahia to the world of women’s sport.

Beatriz Ferreira and her blood bond with boxing: where it all began

Bahian from Salvador, Beatriz Iasmin Soares Ferreira was born on December 9, 1992. Daughter of a boxer father and two-time Brazilian champion, Raimundo Oliveira Ferreira, had contact with the sport since she was little. The garage at home was transformed by his father into a gym and attracted many people interested in the sport, including his 4-year-old daughter. That’s where it all started.

Trajectory of a woman in a male-dominated sport

At 13, Beatriz Ferreira was already fighting with the boys who attended her father’s academy and remained that way for nine years. The few opportunities and the lack of female competition prevented the prodigy fighter from showing her potential to the world. Her first official competition was at the age of 21 in the Brazilian Championship in 2014, however, after winning her first fight, she was disqualified.

The Beloved Boxing Regulatory Organization (AIBA) had declared that athletes were prohibited from practicing another martial art, requiring exclusivity in boxing, and shortly before competing, Bia had participated in Muay Thai competitions, due to the lack of boxing competitions. The athlete was suspended for two years and ended up not being able to compete for a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games.

the turn up

The support of her family, and especially her father, nicknamed Sergipe, was essential for her not to give up. She started to fight in country competitions, which were not regulated by the AIBA, and had the presence of great fighters. Beatriz stood out and won for two years in a row (2014 and 2015). Her recognition came in the Brazilian team and she had the chance to train in hopscotch and was part of the “Olympic Experience” project, idealized by the Brazilian Olympic Committee since 2012.

The program aims to take the pressure off promising athletes by getting to know the reality and magnitude of the biggest sporting competition in the world, in addition to having the opportunity to get in touch with medal-winning athletes. The boxer had the chance to duel with Adriana Araújo, the first Brazilian woman to win a medal at the Olympic Games, bronze in London 2012.

As of 2017, Beatriz Ferreira started to participate in (inter)national competitions, collecting titles and recognition. In 2020, she had already fought over 100 fights. In her interviews, the athlete always thanks her father for his support and apologizes to him when the result is not expected. He, on the other hand, got a tattoo representing the Tokyo Olympics after promising that his daughter would pass the quarterfinals and guarantee at least the bronze medal. She still has the support of her girlfriend, Ana Azevedo, a sprinter in Brazilian athletics. Ana is a five-time Brazilian champion in the 200 m and elected the best female athlete by the Brazilian Athletics Confederation in 2020.

Titles and Olympics

The boxer’s first gold medals came in 2017, at the Belgrade and Continental Tournaments, two of the main competitions in the sport and its category (60 kg). In the same year she won the Sofia Tournament and the Brazilian Boxing Championship. She repeated the feat of the Brazilian in 2018, was South American champion and runner-up in the traditional Strandja Tournament. Her big year was 2019, in which she became world champion for the first time and Pan-American champion. All these titles led Beatriz Ferreira to the greatest feat of women’s boxing by winning the silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Representativeness and visibility: Beatriz Ferreira’s impact on Brazilian sport

Just as Adriana Araújo paved the way for the young Beatriz, by winning the first medal for Brazilian women’s boxing, Ferreira trains and dedicates herself fully to the sport to inspire more girls.

In an interview, the athlete says she knows that the time will come for her to stop and make room for new talents. The passion will clearly continue, but she wants to further stimulate the new generation of girls, and make the process easier than it was for her in terms of opportunities. Another desire of Beatriz Ferreira is to match the number of categories for women with men, from 3 to 5. This will allow other girls to compete and new examples to be given.

The athlete also said that sport was a great tool for her to mature as a woman. After winning the much-desired and deserved Olympic medal, Bia posted on her Instagram: “I have always trained, fought, seeking to give more strength, seeking to have more women in the sport, and I hope that this achievement motivates many women to enter the sport, to become a boxer”.

10 inspiring facts about the boxer

Find out more about this unbeatable fighter who marked the history of women’s boxing in Brazil:

1. Best result in women’s boxing at the Olympics

Beatriz Ferreira won the first silver medal and the best result for Brazilian women’s boxing at the Olympic Games. Before her, Adriana Araújo held the position when she won the bronze medal at the London 2012 Games.

2. She was a boxing teacher

The athlete started teaching boxing at age 15 to help her family with household expenses. It was also a way for her to have contact with the sport, since there were no female competitions. During the suspension, she also competed in amateur championships and was never discouraged.

3. Winner of the Brazil Olympic Award

Two-time winner of the Brazil Olympic Award, in 2017 as a standout boxing athlete and in 2019 as the best athlete, beating swimmer Ana Marcela Cunha and fencer Natalie Moellhausen.

4. Do famous Tiktok dances before stepping into the ring

Bia’s entrances into the ring were the talk of the Tokyo Olympics. To the sound of songs like “Bipolar” by MCs Davi, Don Juan and Pedro, “No, Não vou” by Mari Fernandez and “Favela arrived” by Ludmilla and Anitta, the boxer still did the dances that went viral on the TikTok app.

5. First place in the world ranking

Beatriz Ferreira was the first athlete in the history of Brazilian women’s boxing to conquer the first position of the AIBA World Ranking, in the lightweight category (60 kg), in July 2020. At the World Championships in Russia in 2019, she was the first Brazilian to be elected the best athlete of a World Boxing Championship.

6. Has two younger sisters

In addition to Bia, her father has two other younger daughters, Samira and Maria Antônia. While the middle sister, Samira, is passionate about theater and dance, the youngest, Maria, loves to accompany her father and Beatriz in training. A curious story that the fighter told in an interview is that her father had a fight the day her sister Samira was born. He went to the hospital to monitor the birth, then went home to get Bia and took her to the fight.

7. Is a military athlete

Like other high-level athletes, Bia Ferreira is a Third Sergeant in the Army and competes in military-level tournaments. She won the gold medal at the 2021 Moscow Military World Games in the 60-kilogram category.

8. Will compete in the 2024 Olympics

The Olympic medal dream came true at the Tokyo Games, but it further encouraged the athlete to continue training, competing and repeating the feat of climbing on the podium at Paris-2024, this time in the highest place. After the medal ceremony, Bia gave interviews thanking her family and coaches and about her future: “What’s up, Paris? I’ll talk to my coach over there and we’ll see. For me, yes. I want to change the color of this medal.”

9. Your family members are your biggest fans

In addition to the tattoo made by their father during the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the sisters and mother are always registering their support for the fighter. In a post on Instagram, she showed that they had shirts and a flag made with the athlete’s face! This support is essential for Bia to step into the ring and give her best.

10. Unbeaten for 23 straight fights until losing the Olympic final

Until losing the Olympic final against Irish Kellie Anne Harrington, Beatriz Ferreira was undefeated since April 2019, celebrating the feat of 23 straight wins. After the second place in the World Championship in Turkey in 2022, Beatriz has 135 fights, with 127 wins and only 8 losses. She was military world champion in 2021 and world runner-up in 2022.

Conquering the world is little for Beatriz Ferreira. She still wants to win the biggest and super high sports title on Mount Olympus. In the meantime, learn about the story of Mayra Aguiar, the athlete who raised the level of women’s judo by winning three Olympic medals.