ACCRA, Ghana — Growing up in the working-class Jamestown neighborhood of Ghana’s capital, Abigail Kwartekaa Quartey faced resistance when she chose to pursue professional boxing as a teenager. Her family pleaded with her to abandon the sport, an unconventional path for a young woman in a community where boxing, though a source of local pride, is traditionally seen as a male domain.
Jamestown, a fishing hub famed for producing boxing stars, has long celebrated the sport—but rarely for women. Despite the discouragement, Quartey refused to give up. Last year, at 27, she made history as Ghana’s first female world boxing champion and the first woman to represent the West African nation internationally on the national team.
“When I started, my aunts and siblings hated it. They’d come to the gym and beg my coach to stop me,” Quartey recalled at Black Panthers Gym in Jamestown, where she’s trained since her teens. But everything changed last November when she bested British boxer Sangeeta Birdi in Jamestown’s main ring, clinching the WIBF World Super Bantamweight title. The victory unleashed a wave of celebration among friends and neighbors, momentarily silencing the stigma surrounding female boxers.
A Triumph Born of Struggle
Ghanaian media hailed her win as groundbreaking, though Quartey is quick to acknowledge she wasn’t the first woman to step into the ring in Ghana. “There were female boxers before me,” she said, “but they never got the chance to compete abroad.” Her journey to this milestone underscores the steep challenges African women athletes often face.
Raised in Jamestown, Quartey sold rice with her aunt as a teen to help support her family. Only her brother, a boxer himself, and her coach backed her dream. In 2017, financial pressures forced her to quit boxing and sell lottery tickets instead. It took persistent encouragement from her coach to lure her back in 2021. Without the means to hire a manager, she doubted she’d succeed. “Female boxers in Ghana get little support,” she said. “It’s tough to keep going.”
A Victory for All
Sarah Lotus Asare, a boxing coach and organizer of the Girls Box Tournament, said Quartey’s title resonates far beyond one fighter. “Even male boxers here struggle against foreigners with better resources,” she noted. “This win is huge for everyone.”
Quartey’s coach, Ebenezer “Coach Killer” Adjei, beamed with pride as he watched her train. “Her title is massive—for her, this gym, Jamestown, Ghana, Africa, and the world,” he said during an afternoon session at Black Panthers Gym.
Leading by Example
For Quartey, the real reward lies in inspiring the next generation of women from her community. “I’m a world champion now, proof that women can do what men can,” she said, hoping to see more girls take up professional sports.
Training alongside her was 18-year-old Perpetual Okaijah, who faced similar family pushback. “They told me the gym is for men,” she said, “but I kept coming.” She looks to Quartey as a role model. “Abigail’s tough. She inspires me and shows me what’s possible.”
