Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Boxer who became the first woman to hold European, World, Commonwealth and Olympic titles.
On the island
Eight records
The first piece of music is Drake, um, Summer Sixteen, and this is because I've been listening to to this song the whole year. It's got me motivated and ready for action and for Rio.
This one's Nicki Minaj Moment for Life. This is um one of my walkout tracks that I use. It's quite motivational for me and gets me fired up and ready to go in the ring.
We're gonna hear Frank Sinatra, New York, New York. That's because up until I was 10 years old, we used to travel to New York every year. We used to go visit family, go to the theme parks, the walk parks, and everything. And I really got into Frank Sinatra, and I heard this song on an advert once while I was there, and I absolutely loved it.
My fourth song is Bob Marley, Jammin'. My mum always used to she used to play a lot of Bob Marley in the kitchen when she was cooking and this song particularly I liked the best.
This is Lincoln Park in the end. This is because when I was growing up with boxing, it was quite tough to deal with the criticism that women's boxing got, and this song kind of got me through it. I was like, yeah, it made me really, really motivated and just got me out there training.
RosesFavourite
The Chainsmokers (feat. Rozes)
This is Chainsmokers and I chose this one because this was the song at the time when I met my partner that I'm with now and uh yeah, it always reminds me of her.
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (from The Nutcracker Suite)
New York City Ballet Orchestra (conducted by David Zinman)
And this is the Nutcracker Suite. I chose this because I absolutely loved to watch the film Fantasia when I was a kid, the the Disney film, and it actually got me into listening to classical music.
Eight pieces of music is Entrance Set You Free. I chose this one because this was the first time when I was young, me and my friends, we managed to wangle our way into a nightclub. Underage, we managed to get in and we were on the dance floor and this song came on and yeah, I'll remember that moment for the rest of my life.
In conversation
Presenter asks
0:38With chess I suppose there's never any risk that you're going to get carted out of the arena on a stretcher, however. Do you thrive on that threat of danger?
Uh yeah, I do. I I guess it's just the I like the tactical part. Okay, you're trying to make your opponent make a mistake so you can capitalize on that mistake. And I like that every time I step in the ring, I never know what's gonna happen. I love pressure. It just makes me perform ten times better. It's almost like if I if I if you lose this fight, you'll die. And I like the pressure of okay, right, it's all or nothing. Let's go out and do this and perform the best you have ever seen me perform in my life.
Presenter asks
2:33The first ever bout you won then, you were thirteen, it was in a working men's club in Leeds. What can you remember about that?
Oh God, everything? Smoking wasn't banned then, so I remember feeling the back of my throat was actually on fire because of the smoke in the room. There was almost like a ring of smoke above the ring. But I also remember my family being there and how excited I was. And I was running around the whole club because I was only 13 at the time. I was really excited. And my coach is trying to get me to sit down and relax and conserve my energy. And I'm like peeping through the curtain trying to see what's going on. Yeah, I absolutely, absolutely loved it.
The keepsakes
The luxury
It's definitely a downtime thing when I'm not in training. I can put on the console and I can play online as well and my brother plays, so we can play the same game, I can communicate as well and talk about how the week's going.
Presenter asks
4:55You became the first British female boxer to retain an Olympic gold title. Did you go to Rio with the specific intention of claiming that record, or was it enough just to be there?
No, I was I was going there with that that intention. I wanted to become a double Olympic champion. It's been my goal for the last four years. It's gold or nothing for me. I I don't like coming second.
Presenter asks
8:37What was life like in Leeds when you went home [after winning gold]?
Yeah, it was very different. Walking down the street, I'd get stopped every every twenty seconds. A normal trip to the corner store would take twenty minutes instead of five. And I remember one particular day I went to the supermarket thinking that I could just go and do my regular grocery shopping and uh I was mobbed, had to leave my leave my shopping and go home.
Presenter asks
19:21To what extent, as you went to boxing camps, as you went to various gyms, did you feel that your best interests were always the most important thing to the people that you were working with at that young age?
My coaches always gave me full support, but there were some coaches that weren't as supportive um for women's boxing. The belie like, you know, women shouldn't box. I'd never let a woman train in my gym.
Presenter asks
24:17There are people who think [boxing] is barbaric. There are people who think it should be banned. What do you say to them?
For me, boxing is it's a work of art. I love the technical ability that goes into it. It's not as barbaric as as you think. There's so much in there. You can't just lose all your senses and throw a caution to the wind and just start throwing punches because, you know, you'll get caught, you'll get hit, possibly knocked out, and you've got to be so smart and tactical when you're in there.
“I like the tactical part. Okay, you're trying to make your opponent make a mistake so you can capitalize on that mistake. And I like that every time I step in the ring, I never know what's gonna happen. I love pressure. It just makes me perform ten times better.”
“I just always remember my coach um telling me, growing up with boxing, saying no matter how serious things get, you have to enjoy the moment. You have to enjoy what you're doing. If you enjoy what you're doing, you'll stay relaxed and you'll perform better.”
“I just thought, you know, I can just go in uh to my local supermarket, do my shopping and ev everything'll be fine, you know.”
“This is who I am. You either like me or you don't.”
“For me, boxing is it's a work of art. I love the technical ability that goes into it. It's not as barbaric as as you think.”
“I know that now younger girls like me that start boxing, there's a path for them to follow and they won't have to struggle, they won't have to worry about funding. They know I start here, I go to the national championships, I box for England, box for Team GB and then I hopefully become an Olympic champion one day.”