Lauren Price, Kirstie Bavington & A Little Slice Of History

Lauren Price, Kirstie Bavington & A Little Slice Of History

In 1998, women’s boxing was still banned in Great Britain. If it wasn’t for Jane Couch, it still might be. Couch had to go to court for the right to fight. Couch fought many things at that time. Her victory in that courtroom didn’t quite change everything overnight. In truth, it’s only in the last few years that we have seen the fruits of Couch’s brave labour.

When Katie Taylor turned professional in 2016, everything started to change. But even then, it took time. Only a worldwide pandemic got women’s boxing the attention it deserved. It might have been because they were cheaper when reducing costs was more than a thought in those behind-closed-doors times but given a prominent position on the original incarnation of Eddie Hearn’s back garden fights, the women delivered. They haven’t looked back since.

This Saturday night in Birmingham, we see a new beginning with the first-ever female British title fight. Lauren Price and Kirstie Bavington will trade blows for the inaugural British welterweight title. Another little slice of history and another nail in the coffin of prejudice and ignorance.

More British titles will undoubtedly follow, and the super-flyweight ranks would be an excellent place to go next. Arguably, they should have been first. But, either way, Price and Bavington will be the first of many. It has to start somewhere.

Kirstie Bavington (7-3-2) has upset the odds before. She will have to do so again to claim the British title. Price is 1/50 to beat her. For reference, Canelo Alvarez is only 1/20 to emerge victorious over John Ryder a few hours later in Mexico. Skybet thinks Ryder has a better chance of beating Canelo than Bavington does of beating Price. In reality, those odds should be the other way around.

The odds might indicate Bavington has next to no chance, but before her defeat to Kandi Wyatt last time out, she was on a more than decent four-fight winning run, including winning and defending the European title. Despite the unflattering odds, Bavington is unlikely to be there just to make up the numbers. The fighter who lost to Sandy Ryan a few years ago is now long gone. At the very least, Bavington will make Price work for her victory.

But Price comes with real credentials. And ability. An unbeaten start to her professional career. Three fights in she has yet to be tested. A fighter who is likely to be fast-tracked to world honours within the next twelve months. Described as a tough-tackling centre-back in her football days, and in that period of her life, she earned 52 senior international caps for Wales. Price could have been lost to kickboxing, a sport where she won a silver medal at the World Championships when she was just 13. There was a brief stint on Team GB via taekwondo, Price could also have gone down the rugby route. But boxing became her calling. And from the early days, the talent was obvious.

With little or no experience, Price, then 17, went to the World Youth Championships in Turkey and returned with a bronze medal. If it wasn’t for a referee who panicked at the first sight of blood, it could have been gold. A bloody nose ended her tournament with just ten seconds remaining, with victory in sight. But the medals kept coming. There were medals at all the major championships, including gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2019 World Championships, and her childhood dream of winning an Olympic medal was realised in Tokyo in 2021. Price beat China’s Li Qian in the final to become the Olympic champion, and she turned professional with Boxxer and Sky Sports after much competition for her signature.

Price 28 has big plans, and the world title is part of that plan. But she concedes Bravington is a step up from her three previous opponents, but still firmly believes she is a level above her opponent on Saturday night. The odds suggest she is right. But Bavington shouldn’t be written off. While Price is a worthy favourite, the odds do seem a little wide of the mark. I will be surprised if Price doesn’t leave Birmingham a British champion, but equally, I would be surprised if Bavington doesn’t make it competitive. At least in the early rounds.

The importance of the fight on Saturday night shouldn’t be lost. Even just a few years ago, the thought of two women fighting for a British title was remote at best. Even when Jane Couch claimed that historic courtroom victory twenty-five years ago, her problems were only just beginning. Couch was subjected to much ridicule and abuse from the media and many in the sport after that landmark moment in August 1998. It left Couch mentally broken, and sadly, she gained little from her momentous victory. Whoever wins on Saturday night it would be fitting if Couch was there to give the famous Lonsdale belt to the winner. Sadly, for many reasons, that won’t happen. But it should.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer