In only her fourth professional bout, Nicola Hopewell is looking to “make a big statement” as she goes up against current Super Flyweight Commonwealth Champion, Newark’s Emma Dolan.
Hopewell, who is Worksop’s first female professional boxer, hopes to extend her resume to Worksop’s first professional boxer to win a major belt (regardless of gender), if she can beat Dolan on Friday 6th October at the Community Park Arena in Sheffield.
SHE BOXES caught up with Hopewell to discuss how she got started in boxing, the impact of facing redundancy during camp, and how preparations are going for her first professional title shot.
FAST FACTS
NAME: Nicola Hopewell
ALIAS: Hurricane
NATIONALITY: UK
PRE-FIGHT SUPERSTITIONS: Eat tuna and pasta for lunch before the fight, and walk out to Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’
POST-FIGHT CHEAT MEAL: Pizza from Giorgio’s Italian
Swapping Ballroom Dancing For the Ali Shuffle
Although she described herself as quite sporty at school, Hopewell didn’t put on her first pair of boxing gloves until she was 22 years old.
From ages 5 to 16, Hopewell competed in Latin ballroom dancing, but her passion for this burned out as she entered a new stage of her life; studying for A-Levels and starting a weekend job.
It wasn’t until 6 years later that Hopewell tried a boxercise class held at an amateur boxing gym, hoping to improve her fitness.
“I went to a boxercise class to get fit, but it didn’t take off, so then the coach invited me to join the proper boxing classes. I started doing pads, bags, sparring…and just gradually started building into it.”
A Natural Talent For Boxing
The pool of female amateur boxers is much more limited than the pool of male amateur boxers, which can make it hard for coaches to match fair fights.
Because of this, Hopewell often missed out on boxing on her club’s home shows and didn’t fight regularly until she started entering open class tournaments, where she risked coming up against someone vastly more experienced.
“When I first started there were not many girls at all.”
“I think I had quite a successful amateur career. When I first started there were not many girls at all. I had 32 fights, but that was over a nearly 7-year period, and most of those fights were towards the middle to the end of my career when I started doing box cups and stuff.”
Hopewell has two large cabinets in her home packed with trophies, belts, and medals which she accumulated over her fantastic amateur career.
Despite this, Hopewell’s proudest amateur achievement isn’t any of the titles themselves, but the personal significance they hold, a physical reminder to Hopewell of her clear progression in the sport.
“I think my proudest achievement would be winning the East Midlands Flyweight belt. That was against a girl who was on the England Boxing team and when I boxed her for the first time I lost unanimously. So, I challenged her again and lost on a split decision on her home show. Then that became kind of my aim, I was going to get better and beat her.
“When I challenged her a third time, I beat her on a split and won the East Midlands Flyweight belt. Then, I actually ended up boxing her again at the Esker All Female Box Cup in the final and beat her unanimously. So that series of fights just summed up my progression over the years.”
Looking For a New Challenge in the Professional Ranks
Hopewell felt that her late start in the sport ruled her out of an opportunity to box for her country, so she redirected her high ambitions to the professional ranks.
“I just felt like I’d achieved quite a lot in the amateurs; I’d won box cups, I’d done the England pathway. I didn’t see any way of me getting on the actual England team because they had kids that they’d had for years that had moved up into the adults and stuff. So, I didn’t think there was any room for me there.
“Turning pro was the next step in my career because I started boxing people I’d already boxed.”
Living up to her boxing alias ‘Hurricane’, Hopewell has garnered a reputation for her speed and work rate.
“I’m still quick and relentless, but I use it to my strength now and my movement’s a lot better.”
“My boxing style has changed quite a lot since the amateurs. In the amateurs, I used to storm in and throw everything and didn’t stop.
“I think my boxing IQ is a lot better now. I’m still quick and relentless, but I use it to my strength now and my movement’s a lot better. I know I pick my shots more, whereas it used to be all in, just throw and if you hit, you hit, but now it’s a lot more precise.”
Being Made Redundant During Camp
Like many small hall show boxers, Hopewell holds down a full-time job to be able to pay her bills and fund any additional boxing expenses that her sponsorship money doesn’t cover.
However, last month Hopewell was one of the hundreds of Wilko’s staff who lost their jobs following the high street retailer’s administration.
This was especially tough for Hopewell, who had worked at Wilko’s for almost 16 years. Starting out as a 16-year-old on the checkouts at the weekend, Hopewell had worked her way up to Space Planning Assistant Manager at the Head Office.
“It was very up and down, and mentally draining. I just tried to use that frustration to fuel my training.”
Whilst going through redundancy was stressful, Hopewell found a silver lining in having more time to commit to training.
“The Wilko’s administration was announced half-way through camp, but I don’t think that it actually affected training. If anything, it probably helped because I had more time. I was resting more.
“Mentally, it was quite tough because you didn’t know what was happening. I got told I was being made redundant on the Friday, but just the Wednesday before that, we were told there was a buyer. It was very up and down, and mentally draining. I just tried to use that frustration to fuel my training.
“But yeah, I’ve not worked since 4th September, so I’ve had a good few weeks before the fight to train and rest.”
Dolan vs Hopewell
Dolan vs Hopewell is sitting at the top of the GBM Sports’ Reece Mould vs Martin McDonagh undercard, but even the event organisers have noted that the former has generated the most buzz.
Make no mistake, this is a clash of two of the best female Super Flyweights in the UK, a fight which would slot in nicely on a Matchroom Boxing or Boxxer bill. This fight promises fireworks with both fighters being known for their high work rates and both stopping their opponents in under a minute of the first round on their debuts.
Hopewell, who hasn’t fought since February, explained that the fight had been in discussion for months prior to its announcement, but due to various contractual disagreements, it was delayed several times.
Boxing fans will know that this isn’t uncommon with highly anticipated box office fights, but for fighters like Hopewell who have to work alongside training to supplement her income, not fighting regularly is mentally, physically, and financially draining.
“Once it all got announced, it was just like finally like it’s a bit of a relief and it takes a bit of weight off your shoulders.
“It just kept getting pushed back and it just got more frustrating because I was training for this 10-round fight, for a specific fighter, that wasn’t getting signed off. No contracts were getting sent through.
“I ended up missing a GBM show that they wanted to put me on, but my manager didn’t put me on it because there were still talks of this Commonwealth title happening, so I missed out on being on that one.”
Finally, one week out from the fight she’s long been waiting for, Hopewell only had positive things to say about the improvements she’s made in camp.
“It’s going really well. My fitness is there. When I’m doing 10 rounds in sparring, I feel OK and can recover quickly between the rounds.
“I’ve been sparring Amy [Greatorex] from our gym, then there’s two amateur girls who are on the England team that I’ve been sparring, Olivia [Dunleavey] and Alice [Pumphrey]. They’re both amazing. They’re only amateur girls but they can bring 6 rounds. I’ve been doing 6 rounds with one, then that one’s coming out, then I’m doing 6 rounds with the other one fresh. So, it’s been working really well.
“I’ve also been down to Essex three times now to spar Lauren Parker, she’s like the number 1 flyweight in the UK. That was a really good experience and I think it just shows how much I have improved. I think if you’d put me in with her about a year ago, I’d have got my head pinged off!”
“It’ll be a lot of straight shots and not a lot of movement, unless [Dolan’s] changed from her last few fights.”
Whilst Dolan describes herself as not afraid to speak her mind, Hopewell has a more reserved temperament. Hopewell refuses to engage with Dolan’s remarks in interviews and on social media, simply rolling her eyes and reiterating that she’ll do her talking in the ring come fight night.
Not every boxer needs to be a larger-than-life ‘Tyson Fury personality’, and you have to respect Hopewell for staying true to herself.
“I feel like it will go the 10 rounds. Emma seems to think I’ve only got 4 rounds in me, that’s what she keeps saying all over social media. She’s ‘going to give me a good hiding’ and I’ve ‘only got 4 rounds’, so I can’t wait to see what Emma’s going to bring.
“I think with her being quite rangy, it’ll be a lot of straight shots and not a lot of movement unless she’s changed from her last few fights. I’m expecting her to be quite explosive and a lot of work rate.”
Hopewell is unfazed that Dolan is looking past her to potential future fights, with the likes of Lauren Parker for the European title, and is confident that she can pull the rug out from underneath Dolan on Friday night.
“Winning the Commonwealth title would make a big statement and open doors for me.”