Cora Livingston

But first, while researching the history of the American heavyweight title, I came across the fact that before Mildred Burke was even born, there was a recognized women's wrestling champion.

Cora Livingston, sometimes also spelled Livingstone, was a wrestler who learned how to wrestle in the carnivals, and then she wrestled professionally from 1906 to 1925, where she was recognized as the Women's World Wrestling Champion.

In 1913, she married Paul Bowser, while they were both wrestlers, and then Paul Bowser would later establish himself as the promoter of Boston, Massachusetts.

Cora retired to assist him with his promotion, but for those years prior to that, she was a fairly active, for the day, professional wrestler.