Golden girl Adams fires warning to world title holders

GOLDEN girl Leeds boxer Nicola Adams believes she has set herself a realistic target in winning all four world championship belts in the professional flyweight division over the next two years before hanging up her gloves.
Nicola Adams sparring at The Trinity ahead her fight at Elland Road on SaturdayNicola Adams sparring at The Trinity ahead her fight at Elland Road on Saturday
Nicola Adams sparring at The Trinity ahead her fight at Elland Road on Saturday

Ahead of her latest bout as a professional on Saturday evening, the 35-year-old is not bothered which current world champion she faces first or how quickly, admitting: “I’m coming for all the belts anyway, they may as well just step up now.”

Double Olympic champion Adams will take in just the fourth fight of her career as a professional on Saturday evening as the chief supporting act on the undercard of the IBF featherweight world title fight between Leeds favourite Josh Warrington and belt holder Lee Selby at Elland Road.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Adams will take on Argentina’s Soledad del Valle Frias who has herself had three world title fights in attempting – but failing – to win the flyweight WBA, WBO and IBF crowns.

Nicola Adams, left, and Argentinian opponent Soledad del Valle Frias.Nicola Adams, left, and Argentinian opponent Soledad del Valle Frias.
Nicola Adams, left, and Argentinian opponent Soledad del Valle Frias.

The former two belts are held by Mexicans with Irma Sanchez the WBA champion and compatriot Arely Muciño holding the WBO crown while Argentina’s Leonela Paola Yúdica is the current IBF belt holder.

Another Mexican fighter, Jessica Chávez, is the current WBC flyweight world champion but Adams is taking inspiration from Ukranian boxer Vasyl Lomachenko in believing she can snare all four belts within the next two years before retiring.

Like Adams, Lomachenko bagged gold at back to back to Olympics having topped the podium in the feather weight division at Beijing 2008 before backing up as a lightweight at London 2012. Lomachenko then took in a world title fight in just his second bout as professional before becoming WBO world champion in just his third fight as a pro.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Expressing her own ambitious plans in the pro game, Adams said: “I want to be a world champion and I want to unify all the belts. I want to do it all and I’ve said two years because I think I will be able to do it in two years. There could be other people going for belts so it might take a bit longer but if everything goes well then why not two years? That’s a good timeframe I think.

Nicola AdamsNicola Adams
Nicola Adams

“You look at the likes of Lomachenko and he went for a world title in his second fight and look at him now. I want to be just like that. Why not?”

Asked when she envisaged herself retiring, Adams declared: “I guess it just depends on how quickly I can get these belts. Everybody keeps saying to me ‘who do you want first’ and I put the question to them - who wants to face me first? I’m coming for all the belts anyway, they may as well just step up now.”

Adams will again be a red-hot favourite to defeat her latest challenger on Saturday evening with the Leeds fighter returning to the ring after a difficult last year. The boxer’s mum Dee was diagnosed with breast cancer in September and Adams then split with her fiancée Marlen Esparza last month.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But Adams was given her mum’s blessing to continue pursuing her boxing career whilst her mum received treatment and Adams says she is at the peak of her boxing powers ahead of Saturday night’s eagerly-awaited assignment at Elland Road.

The boxer’s mum has also responded positively to radiotherapy treatment and is said to be “doing really well” by her double Olympic champion daughter.

Dee will now be in the crowd on Saturday evening and Adams said of the fourth bout of her pro career: “It’s business as usual.

“I’m in really good shape. You know me, I always give 100 per cent in training because I have got everything to lose. Everybody wants to beat Nicola Adams, everybody wants what I’ve got so I’ve got to always give 100 per cent to make sure nobody does that.”