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Leeds girl is national boxing champion
Keeping sporting rivals at bay will be no problem for 16-year-old Bianca Nixon.
For the Leeds teenager has knocked the socks off the boxing world after becoming a national champ.
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And not only can she box for Britain, Bianca also has a black belt in Taekwondo and kick boxing.
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Her love of boxing was born from her martial arts hobby which she started at the age of seven.
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Bianca told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "I liked the fighting side of martial arts and I had got as far as I could go with it so I wanted to try something else."
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So three years ago, Bianca became the first girl to box at the Hunslet Club where more than 100 people of all ages train every week.
Now Bianca is the first female boxer from the club to be crowned National ABAE (Amateur Boxing Association of England) Junior Champion after getting to the finals in Portsmouth earlier this month.
And she will be fighting for her dream of being in the England squad for the 2016 Olympics.
But in the meantime, Bianca is also knuckling down to her A levels, hoping to become a PE teacher in the future.
The Rodillian School pupil hopes more girls will join her at the club after spending months sparring with the boys.
She said: "More girls should try it. Come and join me here, I need more girls. Sparring with boys has stretched me and has helped me when I go to fights but it would be great to see more girls.
"You can become professional but I want to take the amateur path because I get a lot more fun and it's a lot more controlled in amateur, for example you wear protection."
Dad Tony Nixon, 44, from Middleton, jointly trains his talented daughter with coach Paul Savery from the club.
He said: "We feel really proud of her. Everyone has coached her at some time. She was the first girl at the club and the first girl to compete. There are no girls down here to spar with so she's been sparring with boys which has made her stronger."
Tony himself has been a lifelong martial arts fan but trained to coach boxing at the club when Bianca showed an interest.
And although mum Julie is proud of her daughter, she is too terrified to watch her fight.
Paul added: "There's a lot of misconceptions with boxing when people
are not involved: they don't see the discipline and confidence. With amateur boxing there's very few injuries in the sport because head guards are worn at all times and as opposed to professional it's not so much about hurting other people, it's more about scoring points and being technical."
Bianca helps out with training sessions at the club and both boys and girls are welcome from the age of five upwards.
For information phone 0113 2716489 or go to www.hunsletclub.org.uk
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Weather for Leeds
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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