Tori-Ellis Willetts: “I want to be fast-tracked. I want to be in and out. As long as I achieve something, and win some titles, I’ll be happy.”

Tori-Ellis Willetts: “I want to be fast-tracked. I want to be in and out. As long as I achieve something, and win some titles, I’ll be happy.”

By Lewie Laing

“I want to be fast-tracked. I want to be in and out. As long as I achieve something, win some titles, I’ll be happy with that” says former 2x elite amateur champion and 2017 Nations Gold medallist, says Tori-Ellis Willetts, who makes her professional debut May 12th in Leicester, pending the British Boxing Board of Control’s approval.

This was not always the plan. The 2024 Olympic games in Paris were the target until her weight category was removed from the setup. With big changes in her personal life and the upward trajectory of women’s boxing right now, it’s a move Willetts is thankful for as she looks to appreciate every step on her professional journey.

“It was a no-brainer. They took away my weight class, and that kind of made the decision for me. I could have stuck around and moved up, but there were girls already in those slots at the weights above. 

“Being on GB, it’s non-stop. There is always another tournament. You don’t really take things in, achievements and stuff because there’s always another one to get ready for.”

Life has changed dramatically for Willetts, who was a full-time soldier in the British Army, released to Team GB for boxing until the beginning of this year. Willetts has now transferred to the British Army reserves and has become a P.E. teacher in a school, inspiring the next generation of youngsters to chase their dreams.  

It is often lost on many, especially the more casual fans, just how much boxers are turning professional sacrifice and give up. It is a sport that takes so much and at times can offer so little, especially when first starting. It is not an easy path, physically, mentally, or financially, and at times, have fighters questioning whether it is all worth it. 

Willetts, however, is laser-focused on what she wants out of boxing and what she wants out of life. Hanging around and prolonging things is not an option. Getting in, winning titles, and exiting the game with her health intact is the plan. Her military lifestyle has her regimented and well-drilled to deal with the now hectic life she has taken onboard, and she is enjoying the ride.

“When I made the changes and started my new job, in January, I wasn’t sure I could do it. Training, working with kids all day, training again, and then being a personal trainer for others, it was all so tiring. I was used to just boxing all day, so it was a shock to the system, and it isn’t something that people see, just the level of sacrifice that we go through when starting out. But I’m in my routine, and I love it.

“I’m in the army reserves now, I transferred from being full-time, and I’ve started work as a PE teacher. I want to do that after boxing. You’ve got to have a plan. It’s a short career, and you can end up in no man’s land. I’m trying to sort my life now for after boxing.

“I want to be fast-tracked. I want to be in and out. As long as I achieve something, and win some titles, I’ll be happy with that. To retire, start a family and live a healthy life, and still have boxing in my life, but I feel like as long as I achieve in boxing, I’ll be happy.”

More fighters across combat sports could do with taking a leaf out of Willetts’ book when it comes to life after boxing. The aforementioned ‘no man’s land’ grows ever more crowded with fighters from yesterday, at a loss as to where to go next, down on their luck and with empty pockets. In so many cases, a plan for after boxing whilst still actively fighting can go a long way, but so often it is put off for another day or never given a thought in the first place.

Whilst Willetts teaches kids by day, trains for boxing, and then others by night and somehow fits in soldiering for the reserves on a weekend, she fights a battle unseen to the majority of those around her. Willetts has arthritis, a condition causing pain and inflammation in the joints of the body. It affects her daily and, at times, has left her in considerable pain. Considering a lot of boxing training centres around the impact on most joints in the body, Willets has been fighting an invisible fight even when out of the ring. 

Regular injections, along with a more tailored training schedule, are helping to keep the flare-ups to a minimum. Willetts also takes regular ice baths, which also help her body recover and reduce any inflammation. It would be easier to take the less painful routes because of the condition but Willetts is not interested and will not let this stop her from doing what she wants to do, her pro debut the next part of her plan.

“I have an injection every two weeks, which keeps my arthritis controlled. I have actually had a lot fewer flair-ups since leaving the GB squad. It was so busy on Team GB that I don’t think that was good for my body and maintaining the weight for so long. It wasn’t helping my body or arthritis. I was in bad shape at one point. At times, walking was even a struggle. But I’m pushing on, and I’ve got a good pain threshold, I just crack on, which again is a military mindset. As long as it doesn’t affect me getting my pro license, which it shouldn’t, then I’ll keep going. It’s never been an issue through the amateurs, so it shouldn’t be now. 

“Everything is done, I’m just waiting for my license. It’s taken a little longer because of my arthritis. They’ve had to do more checks, but hopefully, that should be sorted. Hopefully, I’ve got my debut coming soon, I’m ready to get in there now and get going.”

Before boxing, Willetts was a kickboxer and became a British and World champion. Because kickboxing is not in the Olympics, a switch to boxing occurred, and it took some getting used to. Reminders about her stance are still given whenever her kickboxing instinct seems to creep back in.

Boxing disrupted the majority of Willetts’ military service when she was a full-time regular soldier. Boxing trials for the army boxing team led to her being on the team, winning the elite amateur championship, and then getting onto the GB squad. Willetts was released from the army to train and compete with Team GB while still being a soldier. The change now to be a professional boxer but army reservist gives Willetts the chance to focus mainly on boxing but when she does go along to her local reserve centre, she also can fully focus on being a soldier and honing her craft out in the field.

“I was always full of energy as a child, grew up with three brothers, so was always play-fighting and messing on. I started with karate but didn’t enjoy that and noticed kickboxing at the same place, so I started there. All I wanted to do was fight and enjoy travelling and fighting. The transition from kickboxing to boxing was quite difficult. Boxing is a lot more technical, I found. I had to change my stance, and it was a lot of repetitiveness in my drills. I’m still developing now, I still get pulled on my stance being too wide now, but that’s what feels comfortable.

“I left the regular army in December and transferred into the reserves. I enjoy that now, it’s my choice when I go and when I don’t, it’s down to me. As soon as I was in the army, I got trials for the boxing team and was on the army boxing squad. Then, after winning the elites, I went onto GB, which the army let me go to. So I didn’t do much soldiering. Being a reservist gives me that chance, but on my terms, I can fit it around my boxing and normal life.”

Willetts competed as an amateur predominantly at 51kg, which in the professional ranks would see her compete at flyweight. However, she has decided to move up in weight following her arthritis and the fact she has kept her body down at 51kg for so long that she believes she wasn’t getting the best out of herself. A move to the red-hot bantamweight division beckons and Willetts can not wait to get started and get the experience under her belt.

The bantamweight division right now is on fire. England’s Nina Hughes holds the WBA title, while arguably the face of the division right now, Ebanie Bridges, holds the IBF belt. All four belts are held by different fighters, and with a smaller crowd to navigate to get a world title shot, the right fights at the right times can propel a fighter there in an instant. 

Willetts is turning professional with a high level of experience to draw on. She sees herself moving at a fast pace and wants the big fights when she is ready. With the introduction of the British Title into the women’s game for the first time, it could be a title Willetts aims for sooner than later should the prestigious title become available in the bantamweight division. Whether it does or not, is out of her control, but it will not stop her from aiming for the top and inspiring the kids she teaches, who will all be cheering her on come May 12th and beyond. 

“I’m coming in at bantamweight, which is so much better for me, I feel stronger, more healthy for my body, and helps the arthritis. There’s Ebanie Bridges, Shannon Courteney, and Nina Hughes, three women who are in the limelight right now and the division is busy. I wouldn’t mind getting that experience behind me and getting to that level myself. There are a lot of girls coming through from the GB setup now as well, which is only upping the standard of women’s boxing and making it more exciting. I’m also hoping more British titles become available for other weights following Lauren Price and Kirstie Bavington being announced for the first women’s British title. It would be good to win that. 

“The school that I work at is in quite a deprived area in Birmingham. There are about 72 different ethnicities in the one school. Some kids were not allowed to get into any sport, but that is changing now, and they are getting involved. Being a role model for them and showing them they can achieve is a good feeling, and it’s good for them to have someone to look up to.”