This Canadian boxed her way into an international hall of fame after a life in combat sports

Growing up in Sudbury, Ont., Kara Ro always played a wide array of sports. But it wasn't until she moved to Windsor — to captain a university volleyball team and get her degree — that she found her love for boxing.

Her boyfriend at the time played in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). She joined him in a local boxing club because they thought it would help his career after signing a professional contract.

"I fell in love with it [boxing] after my first workout," she said. "If something can be this challenging, I have to be a part of it."

Ro became a huge part of the sport. In April 2025, she'll be inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Las Vegas, joining only a handful of other Canadians.

With a 17-0 record between 2002 and 2011, Ro won the women's world lightweight championship in 2005. She was forced into an early semi-retirement due to back injuries and turned her focus to training, ring announcing and commentary for boxing and mixed martial arts. 

Years later and now a mother of two, in 2022, she returned to the ring to fight in Detroit and won her last bout … for now.

"It was so much fun and I would do it again if there was a better purse involved. It's kind of like women fighting, the dollars aren't really there. You're doing it because of love."

Ro started her fight journey at Windsor's Border City Boxing Club — eventually making her way into gyms and training across in Detroit.

One of her first coaches at Border City was Josh Canty, who now owns the club and is its president.

Canty said Ro's length and reach as a fighter was her initial strength.

"With that long jab, controlling the range and looking for that straight power hand — when she became a more seasoned fighter,