12/05/2026
🥊🇿🇲 THE STORY OF CATHERINE PHIRI 🇿🇲🥊
Catherine Phiri was born on 1 January 1987 in Lusaka, Zambia. She grew up in a humble family and faced many hardships while growing up. Life was not easy, but she always believed she could achieve something great through sports.
As a young girl, Catherine loved football and other sports, but later became interested in boxing. At that time, many people in Zambia believed boxing was only for men, so women who boxed were often laughed at or discouraged. But Catherine refused to give up on her dream.
She started training seriously and worked very hard every day. Her discipline, courage, and punching power quickly made people notice her talent. She began fighting in local boxing competitions and continued improving until she became one of Zambia’s top female boxers.
Around 2011, she officially entered professional boxing and started winning titles. She became African Bantamweight champion and later won the WBC Silver title. These victories helped her gain international attention.
In 2016, Catherine traveled to Mexico to fight Yazmín Rivas for the WBC Bantamweight World Championship. Many people doubted her because she was fighting away from home against a very experienced champion. But Catherine shocked the world by defeating Rivas and becoming:
🥇 The first Zambian woman to win a WBC World Title
🥇 The first African female boxer to win the WBC Bantamweight title
That victory made Zambia proud and turned her into a national hero 🇿🇲🔥
After becoming world champion, she defended her title successfully in Zambia and inspired many young women to believe in themselves.
Because of her achievements, discipline, and the way she represented Zambia internationally, the government and military recognized her contribution to the nation. She was later recruited into the Zambia Air Force and trained as a military officer.
Her entry into the military was not just because she was famous, but also because Zambia often honors outsta
