Jelena Janićijević

Jelena Janićijević (Јелена Јанићијевић, born 7 March 1985) is a Serbian professional boxer who is a former European female lightweight champion. She is the first female boxer from her country to win a senior medal at an International Boxing Association sanctioned competition, having won bronze at the 2022 Women's European Amateur Boxing Championships.

Career
A former kickboxer, Janićijević switched to boxing in 2015. She lost on her professional debut suffering a points decision defeat to Nahed Kharchi in a six-round contest in Drap, France, on 29 September 2018.

Three victories and a no contest followed before, on 24 September 2021, Janićijević fought Oleksandra Sidorenko for the vacant European female lightweight title with the contest in Oborniki, Poland, ending in a draw. A rematch was held on 5 March 2022 in Dzierżoniów, Poland, with Janićijević winning the bout, and the title, by split decision. Two judges scored 96-94 and 97-93 respectively for Janićijević and the third gave the contest 96-94 for Sidorenko.

Taking advantage of a change in rules that allowed professionals to take part in previously amateur-only competitions, Janićijević competed at the 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Istanbul, Turkey in May 2022, going out in the light-welterweight quarter-finals to the eventual gold medalist, Ireland's Amy Broadhurst.

In October 2022, she won the first ever senior medal for a Serbian female boxer at an International Boxing Association sanctioned event when she took bronze at the 2022 Women's European Amateur Boxing Championships in Budva, Montenegro. Competing in the welterweight category, she beat Shahla Allahverdiyeva from Azerbaijan by third-round stoppage in the quarter-finals before losing to Germany's Stefanie Von Berge in the final four. Just as had been the case at the world championship, her conqueror went on to win the gold medal.

At the 2023 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in New Delhi, India, Janićijević lost in the light-welterweight category round of 16 to Uzbekistan's Khadichabonu Abdullaeva.

Janićijević looked set to get an opportunity to become a professional world champion when the IBF ordered negotiations to take place between her and Brazil's Beatriz Ferreira to fight for the female lightweight title vacated by Katie Taylor. However, she was removed from the IBF's rating for undisclosed reasons after terms for the contest were not agreed before the negotiation period expired.

Personal life
Janićijević has a PhD in English literature and is a taekwondo black belt.