FRANK WARREN HAS paid tribute to the career and achievements of Nicola Adams OBE after the WBO world flyweight champion announced her retirement from the sport earlier today.
The 37-year-old, known as ‘The Lioness’ can claim to be the undisputed Golden Girl of British boxing.
Her gold rush at major amateur tournaments began in 2011 at the European Union Amateur championships in Katowice, Poland, right through to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
The only blemish, if you can call it that, came at the 2012 World Championships when she collected silver, but otherwise it was gold all the way.
World champion, two-time Olympic champion, Commonwealth Games gold, European champion – Adams was truly the leading lady and pioneer of the modern elite of women’s boxing.
She became the pride of Britain in 2012 when, at the London Olympics, she defeated the world No.1 Ren Cancan from China in the final to claim the first Olympic women’s boxing Gold medal.
Four years on in Rio, Adams successfully defended her crown, defeating Sarah Ourahmoune of France in the final, leaving the only new ground to be broken being in the professional ranks.
Hall of Fame promoter Warren revealed he had been converted to the potential of women’s boxing by the accomplishments of Adams and proceeded to sign up the national treasure as a professional.
Adams launched her professional crusade in Manchester in April 2017 on the first show broadcast live by BT Sport, defeating Virginia Noemi Carcamo over four two minute rounds.
Frustrated with her display, Adams reasoned that females should also be able to perform over three minute rounds and was obliged when she returned to her home city of Leeds in the May, where she received a rousing reception from the locals at the FD Arena.
Maryan Salazar was stopped in the third round of a blistering display and the reward for Adams was a trip to Canada and a place on the undercard of the Billy Joe Saunders v David Lemieux world middleweight title fight. Soledad Macedo was overcome in the third round.
It was back to Leeds – this time Elland Road – in May of last year when former world title challenger Soledad del Valle Frias was blitzed in the first of ten scheduled rounds.
The WBO Interim world title was next on the Adams agenda at the Leicester Arena in October when Isabel Millan was in opposition. The Mexican proved a tough nut to crack but Adams prevailed on points to win her first title.
She was due to challenge for the full WBO at the Royal Albert Hall in March but injury prevented a fight with Arely Mucino going ahead. Adams was later appointed world champion without fighting by the WBO due to the inactivity of the former title holder.
In September Adams finally got the opportunity to fight in London for the first time since her Olympic success when she took on Maria Salinas in a first defence of her title at the Royal Albert Hall.
A closely-fought encounter that was deemed to be a split draw by the judges ultimately proved to be Adams’ curtain call as a professional boxer, bringing a glorious and unprecedented career to a close.
“It was my absolute pleasure and privileged to promote the professional career of Nicola and it is just a pity that it has come to a conclusion,” said promoter Frank Warren in reaction to the news of his first female star calling it a day.
“Nicola has that star quality in abundance that very few possess which will see her make a success of whatever she chooses to do.
“I am personally delighted that we guided Nicola to the winning of a world title and that she was able to realise that ambition in the professional ranks.
“Her accomplishments will go down in history and she will always be an icon of British sport. It is no secret that I, along with many others, once held reservations over the depth and marketability of women’s boxing in this country and it was Nicola who won us all over with her Olympic exploits, her unquestionable talent and huge personality.
“She will be much missed in the sport of boxing, but will remain an inspiration to others for many generations to come.”
Rob McCracken describes Nicola Adams as “one of the greatest female boxers of all time” as she announces her retirement from boxing
GB BOXING’s Performance Director, Rob McCracken described double Olympic champion, Nicola Adams as “one of the as one of the greatest female boxers of all time” after she announced her retirement from the sport on Tuesday.
Adams joined the GB Boxing squad in 2010 and at London 2012 she became the first women in history to win an Olympic gold medal for boxing. She followed it up at Rio 2016 with a second gold, before leaving the Olympic programme to join the professional ranks where she won a WBO world title.
Rob McCracken said: “Nicola has made a huge contribution to both the Olympic programme and the sport of boxing. Her achievements sparked a boom in women’s boxing and inspired thousands of women and girls to take-up the sport.
“She was a huge talent that always produced her best performances when the stakes were highest and won everything there is to win.
“Her performance at the London 2012 Olympic was one of the highlights of the Games and secured her a place in history as the first woman to ever win an Olympic gold medal for boxing. To then go and win a second gold was a fantastic achievement and rightly marks her out as one of the greatest female boxers of all time.
“Nicola has been a superb ambassador for the sport and a significant part of the success we have enjoyed at GB Boxing over the last ten years. She remains part of the GB Boxing family and will always receive a warm welcome whenever she visits our gym in Sheffield.”
Adams is one of GB Boxing’s most decorated boxers having won flyweight gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Her victory in Rio, when she defeated Sarah Ourahmoune of France in the final, made her the first British boxer since Harry Mallin in 1924 to retain the Olympic title.
It capped a triumphant year for the Leeds boxer in which she also won the world championship for the first time when she defeated Thailand’s Peamwilai Laopeam in the final in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The victory completed a career ‘grand slam’ of winning every major title available to her. These included the European and world championships, the European Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games.
A household name since her iconic victory in London, Adams was nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2012 and 2016 and was made an OBE in the 2016 new years’ honours list.
Adams began boxing at the age of twelve and had her first bout a year later. She was the first women to box for England and win a medal in a major tournament when she picked up the bantamweight silver in the European Championships in Denmark in 2007. Silver at the 2008 world championships in China followed, however she faced a career threatening back injury in 2009 which prevented her from boxing for more than a year.
She recovered in time to be named in the first ever women’s GB Boxing squad in March 2010 and went on to win eight major championship medals, including two Olympic golds, in six years.