NICOLA ADAMS OUT TO EMULATE RONDA ROUSEY’S UFC SUCCESS
Olympic double medal winner Nicola Adams is hoping to emulate UFC sensation Ronda Rousey by putting women’s boxing firmly on the map.
The Leeds flyweight, who makes her professional debut on April 8th on a stacked card at the Manchester Arena, is looking to follow in the footsteps of Rousey who helped popularise women’s fighting in the UFC and became a huge crossover star as a result.
British hero Adams is already a well recognised personality and is the perfect fit to help establish women’s boxing to a mass audience in the same way Rousey has done with the UFC.
“I would love to be able to do something similar with women’s boxing to what Ronda Rousey has done with the UFC and headline my own shows and have big fights in Vegas – that’s every boxers dream,” said Adams.
“I think Ronda Rousey has done an amazing job for the UFC and taken the UFC to a whole new level in the women’s game.
“In the UFC they have women headlining and they get paid just as much as the men do. She’s a big reason for that,” she said.
34-year-old Adams has constantly broken the mould, having become the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing at the London 2012 Games.
She now features as part of thrilling fight card next month, which also sees lightweight ace Terry Flanagan defend his world title against Petr Petrov and a blockbuster showdown between former champion Liam Smith and the undefeated Liam Williams.
Adams, however, will be out to steal the limelight and hopes to continue to change perceptions as she progresses through her professional career.
“I would love to change some peoples perspective of women’s boxing and women’s sport in general, and to help raise the profile,” said Adams.
“Breaking down barriers is something that’s been happening as I’ve gone along with my career. I love to be able to break down barriers and I’m thankful to have achieved so much to be able to do that.
“It’s always good to be able to inspire the next generation to get involved in sport,” she said.
Scotty Cardle Back on April 15th card in Glasgow
Scotty Cardle can win the Lord Lonsdale belt outright when he defends his British Lightweight title against English champion Robbie Barrett at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on April 15.
Cardle puts the coveted strap on the line for the fourth time in Scotland, but with a draw in his second defence and rematch against Sean ‘Masher’ Dodd last April, the unbeaten 27 year old needs to see off Barrett to claim the crown for keeps after stoppage wins over Dodd in November 2015 and Kevin Hooper in Glasgow in October.
Barrett is full of confidence going into the bout having landed the English strap on enemy territory in Birmingham against Marcus Ffrench in October and then defeated Hooper in his first defence in March.
Cardle put mandatory challenger Hooper away in style inside six rounds with a clinical display of his own, and the Lytham St Annes man wants another stand-out performance to seal the belt and move on to target European honours.
“I’m over the moon to be getting the chance to win the belt outright,” said Cardle. “I’ve defended it many times now but with the draw I need one more to get my hands on it – and that’s always been the aim, it’s something special and what I’ve always dreamed of.
“The last time I boxed in Glasgow I thought that was the one for me to win it outright, but it’s no stress to fight for it again as I’m proud to be British champion and I love defending it, and to do it in Glasgow is special for me and my family.
“I’d sparred a few times with Kevin but that’s all I had to go on to prepare for the fight, and he got the better of me in those spars to be honest so I was a bit nervous. I knew I had to be at my best and luckily enough I was, I felt great and I’m hoping to produce the same clinical performance as that.
“I haven’t seen much of Robbie, but Kevin has told me a bit about him and I leave that to Joe to study. He’s a southpaw and a good boxer coming off two strong wins, so we’ll look back to my performances against Southpaws like Maxi Hughes and Craig Evans and make sure I’m on that kind of form.
“I don’t want to stand still, there’s a place on my mantelpiece for the Lonsdale belt and once I’ve got that for keeps I want to move on through the stages. The Lightweight scene in Britain is a World scene anyway; Terry Flanagan is a World champion and Luke Campbell is at World level, so if I do fight those guys I am moving forward.
“I really want the European title next, I’d love to fight Edis Tatli and I’d be more than happy to go to Finland to take it from him – I’ve boxed all over the world as an amateur so that wouldn’t faze me in the slightest.”
Cardle’s clash with Barrett is part of a huge night of action in Glasgow as WBA World Super-Lightweight champion Ricky Burns looks to unify against IBF king Julius Indongo.
Welsh Commonwealth gold medallist McGoldrick signs with Matchroom, makes debut in Manchester
Sean McGoldrick has signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing and will make his debut on the undercard of the World Lightweight unification clash between Anthony Crolla and Jorge Linares at the Manchester Arena on March 25, live on Sky Sports.
The Welsh 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist and 2014 bronze medal man will kick off life in the paid ranks at Bantamweight, where he picked up his medals in Delhi and Glasgow.
The 24 year old former Team GB Podium squad member kicks off life in the pro ranks in a fortnight’s time and the Tony Borg trained Newport talent can’t wait to lace them up.
“I am so excited to be turning pro,” said McGoldrick. “When any boxer starts out, they want to be champion of the world, but when you get into the amateur set up you realise there is more to it than just having a couple of fights and then turning pro.
“I set myself new goals in the amateurs, to win medals and to progress, and now I’ve turned pro, I go back to that goal of wanting to become a World champion and the best I can be.
“I’m raring to go now. Eddie likes to get his guys boxing all over the country and I’d love to do that. Eddie puts on the best shows in the UK and some of the best in the world, and I just can’t wait to be a part of it on the cards of the likes of Anthony Joshua and Kell Brook, fighters that I really look up to and it’ll be an honour to fight on their bills and hopefully I can do myself justice and perform on the big stage.”
“I’m delighted to welcome Scott to the team,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “Scott had a stellar amateur career with Team GB and I am excited to see him move quickly through the pro ranks and challenge for major honours.”
McGoldrick’s debut is part of a huge night of action in Manchester topped by Crolla’s revenge mission against Linares.
