We spar hard rounds, we beat the s–t out of each other,” firefighter Nicole Malpeso, 32, said of her training regimen.

But Quartey persisted. And last year, at age 27, she became Ghana's first female world boxing champion and the first woman to travel the world as a member of the West African nation's national team.

LONDON — Something stood out to Cindy Ngamba as she glanced around when Friday’s all-female boxing event was first announced. So many world championship belts. Ngamba wants one of her own.