Former WBC heavyweight champion Alejandra Jiménez has officially found a fresh sporting home within the grueling world of HYROX, successfully competing in the women’s division years after walking away from professional boxing. The Mexican fighter, widely recognized by her moniker “Tigre,” spent a significant portion of her combat sports career fighting for vindication amidst a bitter controversy that ultimately overshadowed her historic accomplishments inside the squared circle.
Before ultimately stepping away from the sport entirely, Jiménez faced persistent and public attacks regarding her identity, with a former opponent escalating unsubstantiated claims that she was born male. Today, Jiménez is competing in a completely different discipline where her athletic results in the women’s category speak for themselves, drawing well-deserved attention to her physical prowess and endurance rather than the malicious allegations that plagued her final years in boxing.
Her transition to hybrid fitness was prominently on display at HYROX Acapulco. Competing in the rigorous event, Jiménez completed the Women’s Pro division with an impressive time of 1 hour, 10 minutes, and 3 seconds. The performance earned her a remarkable seventh-place finish among a competitive field of 85 athletes, as well as a fifth-place finish within her specific 35-to-39 age group.
Alejandra Jiménez’s Tumultuous Boxing Career
The trajectory of Jiménez’s combat sports career was heavily documented by World Boxing News, including the intense controversies sparked by former opponents. Among the most vocal detractors was Carlette Ewell, a former adversary whom Jiménez successfully defeated by stoppage during her formidable reign as the WBC heavyweight champion.
Following their bout, Ewell publicly claimed that Jiménez had been born male and had undergone a gender transition, pointing arbitrarily to her vocal tone and physical appearance. These allegations were entirely unsubstantiated, yet they spread rapidly across traditional boxing media circles and social media platforms, creating a hostile environment for the champion.
Jiménez repeatedly and firmly denied the claims, explaining that her physical characteristics and health challenges stemmed from hypothyroidism, a recognized medical condition affecting the thyroid gland. Throughout the storm, the World Boxing Council publicly defended her against the relentless attacks, validating her status as a female athlete.
However, the controversies surrounding her career only intensified following her landmark victory in January 2020 over Franchón Crews-Dezurn. In that high-stakes bout, Jiménez captured world titles in a second vastly different weight division by securing a split-decision win to claim the WBC and WBO super middleweight titles.
Shortly after the career-defining victory, routine testing revealed that Jiménez had tested positive for stanozolol, a banned anabolic steroid. The anti-doping violation resulted in a nine-month suspension from athletic competition and the eventual overturning of her victory against Crews-Dezurn, stripping her of the newly won championships. While the doping infraction was a separate regulatory issue entirely distinct from the unproven allegations concerning her sex, the cumulative weight of the controversies heavily strained her relationship with the sport.
Despite eventually becoming eligible to return to active competition following the expiration of her suspension, Jiménez never stepped foot inside a professional boxing ring again. The combination of intense public scrutiny, identity-based harassment, and the doping fallout took a severe toll on the multi-division world champion.
In December 2022, World Boxing News reported her emotional retirement from the sport. During her farewell statements, Jiménez spoke candidly about leaving boxing with a deeply bitter taste in her mouth, openly condemning the discrimination she had experienced throughout her time at the pinnacle of the sport. Having captured world titles across two distinct weight divisions—a rare and historic feat for any Mexican female fighter—her final chapters in boxing were unfortunately overshadowed by external attacks on her personal identity rather than her athletic dominance.
Even after hanging up her gloves, her fight for personal and professional vindication continued outside the ring. In 2023, WBN reported on her formal discrimination complaints and her persistent legal and administrative attempts to secure official recognition and justice from boxing governing bodies regarding the targeted harassment she endured.
HYROX Offers a New Athletic Beginning
Four years after walking away from professional boxing under a cloud of controversy and frustration, Jiménez has successfully returned to competitive athletics. Her recent performance at HYROX Acapulco places her firmly among the leading finishers in a fiercely demanding Women’s Pro field, proving that her elite athletic conditioning remains fully intact.
The contrast between her final years in boxing and her current pursuits is stark. In her previous career, a former opponent questioned her identity publicly, and those unfounded accusations followed her relentlessly until she felt forced to walk away from the sport she loved. In HYROX, Jiménez is competing proudly in the women’s category, where her rigorous times, disciplined training, and competitive drive are earning her recognition strictly for her athletic achievements.
For the sport of boxing, the sight of a former world champion thriving in a completely different grueling discipline after such a bitter and acrimonious departure serves as a sobering reminder of how institutional and social pressures can drive elite talent away. When Jiménez initially announced her retirement, she reflected on her legacy with a mixture of pride and profound sorrow, stating that she hoped her historic contributions were worth the immense personal cost, while noting that she ultimately could have achieved much more had the environment been different.
Today, Alejandra Jiménez is continuing to demonstrate her exceptional athletic capabilities to the world. Only now, that resilience and competitive fire are on full display outside the boundaries of the boxing ring.
