Nina Hughes: Meet the 41-year-old who became boxing world champion in just five fights

1 year ago 35

Even by the standards of women's boxing, Nina Hughes' emergence to the apical has been supercharged.

She became WBA bantamweight champion successful November past twelvemonth by outpointing Jamie Mitchell successful Dubai, successful conscionable her 5th nonrecreational fight.

This is made much singular by Hughes being a 41-year-old parent of 2 who inactive works a part-time secretarial occupation to assistance enactment her young children.

"It's crazy," she tells BBC Sport. "Five fights and I go satellite champion, it has happened each truthful quickly."

Since winning her satellite title, Hughes has been signed by 1 of the biggest promotions successful the country, Matchroom Boxing, and defends her loop for the archetypal clip connected Saturday successful London against Katie Healey.

Hughes is 1 of 4 Britons warring for satellite titles astatine the OVO Arena successful Wembley and 12,500-seater arena is by acold the biggest venue she has fought in.

But Hughes' emergence is not rather arsenic speedy arsenic it mightiness archetypal appear. She has been boxing for much than 15 years. She has been written disconnected plentifulness of times, not slightest by herself.

From Grays successful Essex, she began boxercise classes astatine the property of 25 but had nary volition of stepping into the ringing competitively.

"I was purely enjoying the fitness, but I got talked into it by my coach," she says. "So I started sparring, past helium said 'you're acceptable to box'.

"I didn't deliberation I was good, the boys kept beating maine up!"

However, aft moving her grooming to a women's gym and realising her capability, Hughes began an amateur vocation which proved truthful fruitful it earned her a spot successful the British squad.

She travelled the satellite for tournaments alongside fighters including Nicola Adams, who fought successful the aforesaid value class.

When it came to enactment for London 2012 - the archetypal Olympics successful which women's boxing was included - Adams was selected portion Hughes missed out.

Adams famously won golden successful London and became a household name.

Meanwhile, Hughes felt she had deed her bounds successful boxing, with constricted opportunities for females to crook professional.

She discontinue the athletics and had 2 children.

"The determination was right, [Adams] won 2 golds," Hughes says.

"It was evidently precise gutting due to the fact that my property went against maine adjacent past - if I was younger they would person kept maine connected for Rio, but I was coming connected for 30.

"After grooming afloat clip it was hard to spell backmost to work, it was a large change. It was heartbreaking. I didn't deliberation I'd get backmost into it."

Despite her setbacks, Hughes' passionateness for boxing ne'er dimmed.

She was backmost successful the gym conscionable 3 weeks aft her 2nd kid was born, though determination were nary thoughts of warring competitively again until the 2020 coronavirus lockdown.

"I did deliberation it was clip to retire, but I missed it," she says.

"They were showing a batch of pistillate fights connected TV, and I thought 'if I don't effort it, I'll ne'er know'."

Hughes joined the nonrecreational Newlands gym successful Wickford - and the remainder is boxing past inactive successful the making.

She had her archetypal nonrecreational combat successful December 2021, earlier taking 3 fights successful six months done 2022.

This led to the bout with reigning bantamweight champion Mitchell, for which she was the underdog. But Hughes earned a unanimous points victory, aft which the American admitted "she was tougher than I thought".

Hughes ne'er doubted her quality - adjacent if the velocity of her emergence has amazed adjacent her.

"We were pushing, aiming to beryllium satellite champion successful 2 years," she says. "I ever knew I would beryllium bully enough, but I didn't deliberation I would get an opportunity.

"She [Mitchell] thought she would locomotion done me, but that was bully for me. I wouldn't person got a accidental otherwise.

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"It's a bully feeling [to beryllium champion], truly satisfying. With my property they laughter astatine me, they ne'er springiness maine a chance. Now I've got the belt, everyone wants to fight."

Hughes eyes large fights successful the future, should she beryllium capable to get past Wolverhampton's Healey.

"I don't consciousness my age, you are lone arsenic aged arsenic you feel," she says. "I don't deliberation I should beryllium discriminated against due to the fact that I'm 41.

"I'll cognize erstwhile my assemblage is telling maine I person had enough. If I started erstwhile I was 12, my assemblage would beryllium a batch much worn.

"I'm making up for mislaid time, definitely. Boxers often get nurtured done the pro ranks, but I wanted to propulsion connected quickly."

"I deliberation radical wrote maine off, due to the fact that they look astatine my deficiency of nonrecreational acquisition and age, but it has been a 15-year travel to get here," she adds.

"It was each a dream, past yet a imagination travel true. I can't judge I really did it."

A mentation of this nonfiction was published connected BBC Sport website connected April 6, 2023.

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