Ghana's first female world boxing champion smashes barriers

Ghana's first-ever female world boxing champion, Abigail Kwartekaa Quartey, poses for a photo after a morning training session on the beach in the Jamestown district of Accra, Ghana, Jan 22, 2025. Abigail Kwartekaa Quartey, 28, shows a photo of her match against Sangeeta Birdie from Britain, which earned her the world title and made her Ghana's first-ever female world boxing champion in Jamestown, Accra, Ghana, Jan 23, 2025.

When Abigail Kwartekaa Quartey decided as a teenager to become a professional boxer – an unusual choice for a young woman in a working-class neighborhood of Ghana's capital of Accra – her family begged her to stop training.