They told her women shouldn't box, now she's Ghana's first female world champion

In 2017, she stopped boxing and started selling lottery tickets to earn money. It took a lot of convincing from her coach to get her back into the ring in 2021. She could not afford a manager, and feared she would not make it without one.

In Ghana, she said, "female boxers do not receive much support and it is difficult to keep training".

Sarah Lotus Asare, a boxing coach and the project lead for the Girls Box Tournament, said Quartey's world title meant a lot for all boxers in Ghana.

"Even for the male boxers, when they fight against non-Africans, it's very difficult for them to win, because they have a lot more facilities and equipment than we do," she said.

Quartey's title is "a big deal for her, the gym, the community, Ghana, Africa and the world at large", said her coach, Ebenezer Adjei, as he watched her train during an afternoon session at the Black Panthers Gym.

But for Quartey, what counts the most is the impact on young women from her neighborhood.

She wants more women to become professional athletes.

"I am a world title-holder, and that confirms that what a man can do, a woman can also do," she said.

Training next to her was 18-year-old Perpetual Okaijah, who said her family had also tried to dissuade her from going to the gym, arguing that it was for men only, but she has kept on coming anyway.

"I look up to Abigail, because she's a very tough girl," she said. "She inspires me, shows me the right path."

Agencies Via Xinhua