CULTURETECHLENSAnn Wolfe
VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)
Combined Graph record U-07983 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-7111.
Ann Wolfe, born January 17, 1971, in Austin, Texas, is regarded by the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame as one of the hardest punchers in the history of women's boxing. Over a professional career from 1998 to 2006 she compiled, as the IWBHF records, 24 wins against a single loss — a 2000 defeat by Valerie Mahfood that she later avenged — with 16 wins by knockout, and held world titles in three weight classes. Her signature result came on May 8, 2004, in Biloxi, Mississippi, when she knocked out the undefeated, 6-foot-6 Vonda Ward at 1:08 of the first round to win the WIBA and IBA light-heavyweight titles — a one-punch knockout the IWBHF calls the sport's record for attention, and one that made her, at that moment, a simultaneous titleholder in three divisions. The era's defining fight, against Laila Ali, was pressed for throughout the boxing community but, as the IWBHF records, negotiations never came to fruition, and the two never fought. Wolfe was inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in its Class of 2021. Since retiring she has worked as a trainer, most notably of light-middleweight contender James Kirkland.
Answer summary · this record in brief, from its own record text
Ann Wolfe, born January 17, 1971, in Austin, Texas, is regarded by the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame as one of the hardest punchers in the history of women's boxing. Over a professional career from 1998 to 2006 she compiled, as the IWBHF records, 24 wins against a single loss — a 2000 defeat by Valerie Mahfood that she later avenged — with 16 wins by knockout, and held world titles in three weight classes.
Notes
Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0503. The fight that never happened, stated as such and attributed on both sides: Wolfe and Laila Ali never fought. The International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame records that negotiations between the two sides never came to fruition; in a later interview account (BoxingNews24, 2025), Ali attributed the failure to a contract dispute. Neither side's account is adopted as the reason — the record carries only that the bout was widely demanded and never made. CORRECTION to the packet brief, flagged for the head: the brief stated Ali is not in this graph — she IS, as CTL-E-5660 — so a related_to edge to her live record is minted from this lane on the strength of the IWBHF's documented account of the pursued matchup, graded Provisional because the relationship is defined by a negotiation that failed. Totals as the IWBHF states them: 24-1 (16 KOs), one no-contest. Firsts disposition: the Ward knockout made Wolfe a simultaneous titleholder in three divisions, matching the feat associated with Henry Armstrong — carried in the IWBHF/ESPN dated form (May 8, 2004), not as a standing record. Blocked edge: her trainee James Kirkland is not in the live graph — the training career is prose only. Photo: HELD — no depicting rights-clean file on Wikimedia Commons (see visual_assets basis).
Relationships
- Laila Ali — related to
Ann Wolfe and Laila Ali were the two leading women's boxers of their era at adjacent weights, and the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame documents that significant pressure arose for a bout between them but negotiations never came to fruition; the two never fought. The edge records that documented, era-defining professional relationship — a pursued matchup — not a bout.
Sources
- International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame. "Ann Wolfe Enters the 2015 IWBHF." IWBHF.com, April 3, 2015. Accessed 2026-11-03. (primary source · build store)
- ESPN. "Ranking the Top 10 Women's Boxers of the 21st Century." Via ESPNToday. Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)
- Sporting News. "Who Will Be Inducted into the 2022 Boxing Hall of Fame?" SportingNews.com. Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)
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Record CTL-E-7111 · Combined Graph record U-07983 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 3 sources · 1 mapped relationship.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.
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Chicago: CultureTechLens. “Ann Wolfe (CTL-E-7111).” CultureTechLens Combined Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-7111/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). Ann Wolfe (CTL-E-7111) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Combined Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-7111/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “Ann Wolfe (CTL-E-7111).” CultureTechLens Combined Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-7111/
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