With less than 10 amateur fights, 28-year-old Saudi boxer Ragad Al-Naimi took a giant leap into history when she agreed to fight on “The Truth” undercard in Diriyah on Feb. 26, 2023.
The event, which saw British boxer Tommy Fury defeat American social media millionaire-turned-boxer Jake Paul in the headline bout, saw nearly 775,000 pay-per-view sales and generated internet buzz around the globe.
The spotlight could not have been any brighter for Al-Naimi, who also debuted as the first-ever Saudi female professional boxer, in front of her home crowd.
Unfazed by the occasion, she completed the job by defeating Perpetual Okaidah on points.
“I felt a lot of pressure, yes, a lot of pressure. I knew that I had to win this fight no matter what,” said Al-Naimi. “I also knew that I shouldn’t think that way and put even more pressure on myself, so I really tried to stay as relaxed as possible.’
It is not easy carrying the hopes of a nation into the ring, but Al-Naimi made it look easy.
“The moment I got into the ring and we touched gloves, it was like a switch went on, and I just did what I love, I boxed,” she said. “I had my coach with me, and my sister, I felt comfortable and I just tried to enjoy it all.”
“Looking back now, I don’t know how I got through it,” Al-Naimi said. “It felt good with getting the win and the high of that moment. But during the fight, from beginning to end I don’t know what I was feeling. It took a good week before I understood what I had just done. I can hardly put the feeling into words, I can only say, it was a good feeling.”
The event was the latest major success for boxing in the Kingdom. In addition, it was not just about big-name fighters from abroad. Al-Naimi’s turn showed aspiring Saudi athletes just what can be achieved with the right attitude.
“Before walking into the ring, there were these little kids screaming my name and reaching for me with their hands, I didn’t even know these kids,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it and it made me realize the impact I was having on my country. That they could look at me and think this woman she is 28 years old and doing this, that means I can do it too. That is the mentality I hope they had after watching me fight.”
When Al-Naimi began fighting in 2018, she struggled to find opponents, such was the dearth of female boxers across the Kingdom.
“But now I can see the growth, I participated in an amateur event for the Saudi Boxing Federation right around my fight in Diriyah, and I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “All the young girls fighting there were really tough and aggressive, at just 10 and 11 years old. I was speechless, just loved seeing it, it is nice to think that maybe I was a trailblazer or had some influence on their choices. To make an impact on the future of boxing in the region is really important to me.”
Born and raised in Dhahran, Al-Naimi lived a normal life as a child. She recalls not being very active and jokingly refers to herself as the “chubby” kid. Her family moved to Manhattan in 2008 when she was 12, and even in high school she really had no interest in sports or other activities.
“I was just a chilled kid that really did not do much, it wasn’t until I started college that I picked up fitness,” she said. “I was into spinning and took a few boxing fitness classes right before moving back home in 2017.”
That was all it took to realize the future was in boxing.
“I realized I could throw a punch and thought let’s see where it will take me. I loved it and I just knew I had to do something in my life with boxing, it seemed to be my destiny,” Al-Naimi said.
“I know that a few names were nominated by the Saudi Boxing Federation for this fight, and I was the lucky one that got asked to join,” she said. “They said there is an event at the end of February, we would like you to compete, but at the time I accepted, I didn’t know it was this big of an event. I wasn’t scared, but it was something new. I hadn’t fought without a headgear either, it’s not bad in reality but mentally it was something else I had to overcome.”
Al-Naimi plans to box professionally if the opportunity arises, but her goal is to represent Saudi Arabia in amateur tournaments around the world, like the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships that just finished in New Delhi or the ASBC Asian boxing Championships put on throughout the year.
“I love boxing, and if I am doing that every day, I am happy,” she said. My approach isn’t to try to force anyone to box, it is simply to show girls that if they want to box, they should. I hope that is what I can do. If they want to fight, let them fight. I hope if they see other girls boxing, and sparring, that they will be inspired to do it themselves.”