Boxing

From The Runway To The Ring: Naomi Campbell Reflects On The Intersection Of Boxing And Fashion

Naomi Campbell reflected on the style of several ring legends
Joseph Hammond|
Naomi Campbell in an interview at IBA Pro 9
Naomi Campbell in an interview at IBA Pro 9 | Joseph Hammond

Legendary supermodel Naomi Campbell is no stranger to the runway or the ring. At the IBA Pro 9 event in Istanbul, Campbell wasn’t just a glamorous guest; she presented a championship belt to the winner of a headline boxing match.

Reflecting on the deepening relationship between sports and fashion, Campbell paid tribute to Muhammad Ali, whom she credited with first merging athleticism and style into cultural iconography.

Campbell also noted the role of NBA star Michael Jordan and the Air Jordan brand. Over the years, multiple boxers have been ambassadors for the brand, including former multi-weight-class champion Roy Jones Jr.

Naomi Campbell is no stranger to boxing, having also appeared at the press conference for Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou in London in 2023. The British model is also friends with British boxing heavyweight contender Derek Chisora, who also attended the event in Istanbul.

Naomi was also spotted with Turkish movie star Kerem Bürsin and posed for photos with several boxing stars, including super welterweight champion Terrence Crawford.

“There’s always been a culture of sports and fashion intertwining… It's become much more of a business mixing the two.”

Campbell took time to describe Mike Tyson’s long love affair with Versace. A love affair that can be documented into the 1990s. The former heavyweight champion notably sported Versace underwear to his weigh-in this year with Jake Paul. Campbell herself has modeled for Versace numerous times and was a friend of the late Gianni Versace.

Things have changed.

In this new arena of sport and style, Campbell described how it's the models who are being counted out. She hopes that more opportunities can be found for models to work in sport. In that fight as in so many in the world of fashion, she’s still the champ.

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Joseph Hammond
JOSEPH HAMMOND

Joseph Hammond is a veteran sports journalist with extensive experience covering world championship fights across three continents. He has interviewed legendary champions such as Julio César Chávez, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Gennady Golovkin, Oscar De La Hoya, and Bernard Hopkins, among many others. He reported ringside for KO On SI in 2024 for the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk bout in Riyadh - the first undisputed heavyweight championship in 24 years.

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