Ruqsana Begum

Ruqsana Begum (রুকসানা বেগম; born 15 October 1983) is an English professional kickboxer and boxer.

She was a British and World Kickboxing Association female Atomweight (48–50 kg) Muay Thai boxing champion and captain of the British Muay Thai Team.

In 2002, at the age of 18, Begum took up a kickboxing class after college.

She initially did it as a hobby in secret due to concerns that her family may not approve.

She got herself a part-time job in a chemist, started university and would train every Sunday.

After studying at UzSWLU in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2006, Begum graduated with a degree in Architecture from the University of Westminster.

She was a trainee architect and was made redundant after the company she worked for made cuts.

She is a part-qualified architect.

As a child, Begum played football, badminton and swimming.

Since the age of five or six she has been fascinated by martial arts and was inspired by Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee.

In 2006, soon after she graduated from university, she told her family that she was practising Muay Thai, after she had kept it a secret from her family for almost five years.

however, after they saw the gym and they didn't try to stop Begum.

In 2008, she started fighting professionally.

In 2009, Begum defeated a Malaysian opponent to win a bronze medal at the World Amateur Kickboxing Championship in Bangkok, Thailand.

On 27 November 2010, in her first final, Begum defeated Paige Farrington to win the British Muay Thai Atomweight Kickboxing Championship Professional title from the Duel at the Dome contest in Doncaster.

Begum is the only Muslim woman who is a national champion in her sport.

On 31 July 2011, Begum won a gold medal at the European Club Cup Amateur Muay Thai Championship in Latvia.

She beat a Finnish fighter to secure her place in the final and beat a Turkish fighter in the final to be awarded gold.

On 6 September 2012, Begum was nominated as British Muay Thai Team Captain and won bronze at the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur (IFMA) World Championships in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

On 9 September 2012, she beat Ranini Cundasawmy from Mauritius in the quarter-final, before losing her semi-final match, on 11 September 2012, against the European champion, Chyslova Liudmila, from Belarus who proceeded to win silver.

On 13 April 2013, Begum fought Silvia La Notte from Italy at the New Bingley Hall in Birmingham for the International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA) World Championship.

Although Begum was leading on points, during the fourth round the fight was abandoned after she took a knock to the head.

On 14 March 2015, she contested the International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA) Women's straw-weight world title fight against French national champion, Ludivine Lasnier, at the ILEC Conference Centre in Earls Court, London but lost the title on points.

On 7 November 2015, she was due to contest the World Kickboxing Association (WKA) title against Josefine Lindgren Knutsson of Sweden in Hackney, London, however, after Begum suffered from a virus the fight was postponed until February 2016 and rescheduled for 23 April against Susanna Salmijärvi which she contested and won.

Begum trains under Bill Judd, and fights out of the KO Gym in Bethnal Green, London.

She trains six times a week for two hours each day, and during the build-up to a fight she trains twice a day.

She also does yoga.

She is signed up by RDX Equipment and her main sponsor is DCD Property Company.

In September 2016, Begum signed with Shakir Entertainment Management in New York City.

In March 2018, Begum made the switch from professional kickboxing to boxing.

Begum was born and bought up in Bethnal Green, London, England to a family of Bangladeshi origin.

She comes from a traditional, religious family and grew up in a strict Muslim household.

Begum's paternal grandfather moved to the United Kingdom from Sylhet Division, Bangladesh, to fight for the British in the Second World War.

Her father, Awlad, worked as a tailor-cum-machinist in a factory making leather jackets for high street fashion stores and her mother, Minara, was a housewife.

She is the second eldest of four children.

Begum went to the local primary school and then to Swanlea School.

She studied A-levels in art, history, Bengali, media studies.

In January 2018, Begum signed a three-year a managerial contract with Joe Joyce's handler Sam Jones and Adam Morallee who made her their first client since forming the management company S-Jam Boxing with plans to turn professional in boxing.

She also signed with former heavyweight champion David Haye's Hayemaker Promotions.

On 17 March, Begum made her professional boxing debut under Queensberry Rules against Bulgaria's Ivanka Ivanova in York Hall Bethnal Green, London, which was screened on Channel 5, as an undercard for the Matty Askin vs. Stephen Simmons fight.