On January 5th 2007, Layla McCarter participated in the first-ever female title fight sanctioned for twelve (12) rounds of three (3) minutes each. After years of effort in pushing for this change of policy with the state athletic commissions and with the various belt sanctioning bodies, Layla finally convinced the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), the Global Boxing Union (GBU), and the World Boxing Association (WBA) to approve and sanction the historic match. Layla saw this as her first victory in the fight for gender equity in the sport of boxing. Since that date, Layla has been exclusively competing in three (3)-minute round contests in the state of Nevada including title fights sanctioned by the GBU and the WBA.

Layla McCarter started martial arts training as a young girl when she followed her big bother Pete into an Ed Parker’s Kenpo Karate School. As a teenager living in Spokane, Washington, Layla progressed into full contact martial arts and a short kickboxing career but ultimately fell in love with the sweet science of boxing to which she has devoted her life ever since. She moved to Nevada when she had six professional fights in the year 2000 and met her current trainer/manager Luis Tapia. With his guidance, Layla has become not only a gifted boxer, but a solid individual. Layla has won 4 world titles in 3 different weight classes; all of this while maintaining a 3.95 GPA at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) studying Criminal Justice. She is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society and is on the National Dean’s List.
 
Boxing Career (1998-Current): 12 amateur fights; 48 professional fights; 14 title fights. World Titles Held: IFBA Featherweight; GBU Lightweight; GBU Jr. Welterweight; Layla is the current WBA Lightweight Champion of the World.