Boxer Nicola Adams: ‘We’ve stopped being seen as these fragile creatures’

When the double Olympic champion Nicola Adams thinks back to the beginning of her boxing career it still makes her “blood boil”.
Adams has arguably done more than any other female fighter to increase the sport’s visibility. But when she first put on a pair of gloves aged 12 — after accompanying her mum to the local Leeds gym when she couldn’t get a babysitter — bouts between women were banned by the British Boxing Board of Control, which felt that their periods made them too “unstable” and “emotional”.
“I’ve heard it all, from, ‘Women belong in the kitchen’ to, ‘You’re too pretty to box,’ ” says Adams, 41. “Some gyms didn’t even accept women, or they’d say that they didn’t have ‘facilities’ for women. It blows my mind even now.”
That sanction was lifted in 1998, but change was slow. Adams recalls flying to the 2008 Women’s World Boxing Championships in China to find that there was one red kit and one blue kit for the entire British women’s team to share, whereas the men all had their own kit.
At her second match, aged 17, she overheard a male coach ask, “Who let women into the venue?” “I thought, ‘Right, I’ll show you what women can do,’ and won in about 30 seconds,” she says, that old frustration still close to the surface. “It all gave me the desire to succeed. I was so sure that I was going to be an Olympic gold medallist. I was, like, ‘Just you wait.’ ” She became the first woman to win boxing gold in 2012 when the sport was added to the Olympics, and repeated the feat at Rio in 2016. Now, according to the governing body England Boxing, female participation is breaking records, and a recent survey by EY found boxing is one of the most popular sports among Gen Z adults.
Today, she seems comfortable with the idea of being a role model — inside and outside the sport. Adams has a two-year-old son, Taylor, with her partner, Ella Baig, and in 2020, a year after retiring, she was one half of the first same-sex partnership on Strictly Come Dancing — something she says wouldn’t have been possible without boxing. “It’s given me the confidence to push boundaries.”
Adams is pursuing an acting career but still boxes twice a week in her home gym, and went to Paris to cheer on Team GB in an Olympics riven by controversy in the women’s boxing competition. A fight between Italy’s Angela Carini and Algeria’s Imane Khelif — who had previously been banned from women’s events after failing a gender test — ended after just 46 seconds, with a tearful Carini calling the clash “unjust” and Khelif saying she felt “bullied” by the fallout. Khelif went on to win a gold medal.
“After years of fighting for women’s boxing even to exist in the Olympics and then all the training they go through to get there, it was hard to watch another fighter be forced to give up on her Olympic dreams,” Adams posted on social media, referring to Carini, in the wake of the furore.
She is also concerned about a lack of progress in the sport. “There’s still a lot of work to get it on an even playing field in terms of publicity, promotion and pay. But I do think it’s easier for girls coming through now. We’ve stopped being seen as these fragile creatures. It’s like I took the first step and put the ladder down so everybody else could come up. Hopefully, they’ll do the same thing.”
To that end, Adams is dedicated to encouraging anyone into the boxing gym, often replying to beginners who message her on social media. “Once you get through the doors, you’ll realise it’s not scary — there are people of all shapes, sizes and ages,” she says. “It can help in loads of different ways: self-esteem, confidence, discipline, mood. And you don’t have to get hit; you can just take it all out on the bags.”
That’s something with which Abbie Morrissey, head coach at the new Bristol Girls Boxing Club, agrees. Here, she outlines the top ways the sport can benefit your health.
“Boxing is a workout for your entire body — strength training from striking as well as endurance from bag work and sprints,” Morrissey says. It’s a great calorie-burner and “can quite quickly help you tone up and improve your general fitness, even with one 45 to 60-minute session a week.” If you’re recovering from injury or have a medical condition, consult your doctor before you start, and it’s not recommended for pregnant women.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) reduces cardiovascular disease risk factors, and boxing is one of the highest intensity sports out there. “Two minutes of activity doesn’t sound long, but when you’re continuously punching a bag you’ll be out of breath and, over time, will be able to sustain those periods for even longer,” Morrissey says. “It’s definitely going to help your heart health.”
“You’re predominantly using your core, so that’s going to improve its strength and your stability,” Morrissey says. “It’s also great for balance and co-ordination, as you’re working areas that you wouldn’t necessarily focus on in any other sport.”
Morrissey says the mood-boosting element is one of the biggest benefits. “It allows you to focus on one thing — gloves on, phone down, turn off from everything and just let any stress out on the bag.”
First, get a pair of 12-14oz gloves. “Take plenty of water and make sure you’ve eaten,” says the Bristol-based boxing coach Abbie Morrissey. “I have lots of people who come in for the first time and don’t realise how much of a workout it can be.”
The first “straight” shot we teach and the most used in boxing. You extend your arm to throw the punch. To begin with, use your dominant hand: right if you’re right-handed, and left if you’re left-handed. Have the dominant foot out in front.
Your backhand shot, also thrown with the dominant hand and a straight arm. Your feet will be shoulder-width apart and with the dominant leg slightly behind the body. Twist the hips and the shoulders as you move your arm across your body towards your bag (or opponent).
This can be done with either hand. With your feet in the same position as for a cross, keep your arms in line with your head and bend your elbow at a 90 degree angle. Holding your elbow, wrist and fist in line, rotate your body while you throw the shot.
Probably the most challenging power shot and thrown with either hand, it involves dipping your knees and rotating the hand upwards like a corkscrew, keeping your elbow close to the body. You should be at close range to the bag. Imagine aiming for someone’s chin or chest.
Today marks the launch of The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year awards, in association with Citi. To nominate your sporting heroes, visit sportswomenoftheyear.co.uk