Nicola Adams To Star in Hour Long ‘Sports Life Series’ on British TV

(NOV 6)  “I almost feel like it was my destiny to go to the Olympics and win gold. Something was always telling me at the back of my mind that you need to stick at boxing, this is going to be your way out, this is your way to having a better life. Boxing is your path.” – Nicola Adams

Women’s boxing may not be getting much TV, if any, coverage in many countries at this time but both Great Britain and Ireland have certainly had plenty of coverage of the sport since that fateful August 9th Thursday in 2012 when Nicola Adams and Katie Taylor struck gold for their country at London 2012.

Both have been regulars on nationwide TV chat shows and featured in documentaries ever since, particularly unusual in a year when for European women there has been but one tournament of any significance, that being the 2013 European Union Championships in Hungary which we covered extensively here on womenboxing.com and where once more Taylor and Adams emerged victorious in their respective weight divisions.

Boxing clubs in both countries have been inundated with requests to join from young girls (via their parents) who had shown little or no interest in the sport, prior to the London Games and the subsequent media coverage both national and local in the two countries.

Next week it is the turn of major British Independent TV channel, ITV which will feature Leeds boxer Adams in their ‘Sports Life Series’ on ITV 4 on Thursday 12th November at 10.00pm for an hour.

In the documentary, Olympic gold medal-winning boxer Adams talks to Adam Darke about her life in sport, from her tough upbringing in Leeds to achieving her dream at London 2012.

With contributions from trainer Alwyn Belcher, fellow boxer Kid Galahad and her mother Dee, this programme provides a vivid insight into a character who suffered from a lack of funding which nearly forced her to quit boxing, a back injury which set her back several months, yet returned to take Olympic victory over her great rival, Ren Cancan of China. Nicola reveals that as a youngster she looked up to boxers Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard.

“It was always a big family thing, everyone would sit around and watch the big fights, we’d always have the re-runs on of Muhammad Ali boxing and Sugar Ray Leonard. It was really really exciting and watching the fights and seeing the crowd, and how everybody cheers, I was just amazed by it all, especially watching some of Muhammad Ali’s fights back, I just thought wow. He gets in there and absolutely destroys all his opponents then outside of the ring he was like totally different person.”

But she didn’t take up the sport until at the age of 13 she was taken to an after-school boxing class, which gave her the opportunity to forget about her parents’ split and her mother’s illness through meningitis.

“Boxing gave me a bit of stability there was other kids there, they might have had a break-up or some sort of problem going on, and it was nice because you go to that gym and you’d leave your problems outside the door.”

Her first bout was a landmark moment, she explains – despite being in unglamorous surroundings.

“I boxed at an old working men’s club. I remember getting warmed up and feeling so good and thinking, ‘I’m going to do that move like Prince Naseem does tonight,’ I’ve gone into the ring and the first round starts and I’m switch hitting, I’m throwing screw shots, I’m doing the Ali shuffle and I just absolutely loved it.”

Nicola Adams To Star in Hour Long ‘Sports Life Series’ on British TV
by Michael O’Neill   (additional reporting ITV.com)  November 6, 2013