England's Nicola Adams won the first ever women's boxing gold medal at the Commonwealth Games on Saturday, repeating the feat she achieved at the Olympics two years ago.
The 31-year-old boxer is on an incredible journey since rocketing to fame at London 2012 and with Rio 2016 in her sights, she is not stopping any time soon. Adams was made to work hard on Saturday afternoon in Scotland, edging a split decision against Michaela Walsh from Northern Ireland to top the podium.
In doing so she became England’s first female Commonwealth boxing champion and with Rio 2016 now less than two years away, Adams insist her journey is far from over. "There will be a lot of threats in Rio, everybody wants to beat Nicola Adams," she said.
In doing so she became England’s first female Commonwealth boxing champion and with Rio 2016 now less than two years away, Adams insist her journey is far from over. "There will be a lot of threats in Rio, everybody wants to beat Nicola Adams," she said.
"I'm the number one in the world so everybody's coming for me now I've got to expect that everyone who gets through those ropes wants to beat me.
"I'm looking forward to Rio and I can't wait to get going - I hope to make history again by becoming a double Olympic champion which we've never had in boxing in Britain.
"This is up there with my Olympic gold - it's really nice to be able to compete for your country and I was glad I was able to do that."
Walsh, who had to settle for silver in the end, was adamant that she should have won the fight but the judges’ scorecards disagreed.
And Adams, who has only lost one fight since that historic showing at London 2012, insisted she was value for the win, which was Team England's 50th gold medal of a memorable fortnight in Glasgow.
"It was a close contest and that's what you want to see - the best fighting the best," she added.
"I was confident - you always have to be confident in boxing. If you go in there thinking you're going to lose then you've already lost in my eyes.
"I thought I'd done enough to win - it might be just a minute but it always feels like ten minutes when you're in there waiting for the judges' decision.
"My opponent was really good - she's really talented and one to watch in the future. I've experienced what she's going through, I know what it's like but my shots were more eye-catching.
