Female Fighters Pound Their Way Into History : Boxing: Dallas Malloy, 16, who fought to open the sport to women, wins nation’s first sanctioned amateur bout by unanimous decision over Heather Poyner.

Sixteen-year-old Dallas Malloy, who fought to open amateur boxing to women and gave herself a fast ride to fame, pounded her opponent relentlessly Saturday night and won the nation’s first sanctioned bout between females.

With the national sports media looking on, along with Hollywood agents, television tabloid camera crews and an overflow audience drawn to see this turn of contemporary times, Malloy proved more aggressive, stronger and more theatrical than her 21-year-old opponent, Heather Poyner, a would-be police officer.

The two 141-pounders from northwest Washington boxed three rounds as novice junior-welterweights, breaking the 107-year-old dominion of men in the ring and giving amateur boxing at least a momentary boost of publicity.

“Thus an era ends,” said attorney Suzanne Thomas, who pursued the legal fight for nine months to open boxing to women.

From the first bell, Malloy, a composed and precocious teen-ager from Bellingham, Wash., pursued Poyner across the ring and back, landing punches that brought cheers from the crowd.

Like many novice fights, this one produced its share of flailing gloves, but certainly did not lack for spirit.

Actually, it was more aggressive than the previous five bouts, all the others between men.

The decision of five judges at a junior college in suburban Seattle was unanimous for Malloy. She entered the ring wearing an American flag and even before her victory was pronounced, she presented Poyner, from Lynden, Wash., with a spray of flowers and hammed for the cameras.

Both women have been training full time for the bout, Malloy for a year and Poyner, a marshal arts student, for three months.

With the help of the ACLU, Malloy filed suit against the rules of the USA Boxing sanctioning authority and won a preliminary injunction in May in federal court to permit this bout. Rather than risk a trial and challenge to its right to sanction amateur fights, USA Boxing relented earlier this month and said it was instituting a program for women.

Since then, USA Boxing officials said they have registered six female boxers, three in Washington state and three in Massachusetts. Another 20 or so applications are being processed regionally, officials said.