HEALY INSPIRED BY HANNAH

Fight Academy’s Katie Healy is in the right camp when it comes to inspiration. The fledgling pro need look no further than stablemate Hannah Rankin to see the levels that can be reached in boxing with plenty of hard work, and lots of talent.

Rankin, 31, became a two-time world champion in November when she beat Swede Maria Lindberg to claim the WBA and IBO World Super Welterweight belts on a heady night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, live on Fightzone.

Since turning pro in May this year, former world kickboxing champ Katie has cruised to 2-0 and was all set for her third professional outing on the undercard of Rankin’s world title triumph before injury scuppered the opportunity.

Now fully recovered, the 23-year-old is next out on December 17 on a Black Country Boxing Promotions show in Birmingham. Ahead of the night, Healy says she’s looking forward to a busy 2022 and hopefully a prime slot on a future Rankin undercard.

“I was gutted that I had to pull of the show in November,” said Katie, from Wolverhampton.

“I love being on the Fightzone shows and I was really looking forward to this one in particular! However, a hard decision had to be made and I want to make sure that I’m 110% ready when I step through those ropes. The rest did me good though and I’m ready to get back out there.

“Hannah is an inspiration and it was amazing to see her win those belts. I love seeing the hard work pay off for others. It’s so good to have such great female role models in this sport and especially in the same stable! I’m looking forward to seeing Hannah’s future and hopefully we can be on the same show soon.

“In 2022 I just want to fight, fight and fight! I want to get as much experience and exposure as possible and hopefully we will see some more big fights next year on the Fightzone platform.”