Getting to Know Franchón Crews-Dezurn: From Amateur Glory to WBC Super Middleweight World Champion

Franchón “The Heavy-Hitting Diva” Crews-Dezurn is now one of the great figures in women’s boxing, but her career began long before she won world titles.

The American boxer crafted a solid amateur career spanning over a decade, where she accumulated titles and experiences that made her a role model in her country.

During her time as an amateur, she was an eight-time USA national champion, a four-time Pan American Continental champion, and twice won the prestigious National PAL tournaments.

She was also a two-time alternate for the United States Olympic team, which reflects the competitive level she reached at a time when women’s boxing was just beginning to find its place in top-level competitions.

She also made her mark internationally. At the 2011 Pan American Games, she reached the quarterfinals, where she lost to Canada’s Mary Spencer, one of the most feared rivals of that generation.

Her name is also recorded in history as part of the first U.S. Olympic qualifying process for London 2012, the first time women’s boxing was included in the summer games.

That high-performance experience was the foundation that led her to turn professional in 2016. She debuted that November against Claressa Shields, in a demanding fight she lost by unanimous decision, but which immediately placed her among the elite.

Two years later, she was crowned the World Boxing Council (WBC) world champion at super middleweight by defeating Maricela Cornejo, and in 2019, she added the World Boxing Organization (WBO) title.

In April 2022, she wrote a golden page in history by defeating Elin Cederroos in New York and becoming the first undisputed champion of the super middleweight division.

Today, at 38, Crews-Dezurn remains the WBC and WBA world champion, solidifying her legacy as a boxer who transformed a medal-filled amateur career into a professional one that places her among the best on the planet.