Nicola Hopewell: “I’ll come back a better fighter, and Friday night showed that I have got heart and that I never give up.”   

Nicola Hopewell: “I’ll come back a better fighter, and Friday night showed that I have got heart and that I never give up.”   

There was risk, and there was potential reward. Nicola Hopewell rolled the dice on Friday night on the latest GBM show in Sheffield when she challenged the talented and unbeaten Emma Dolan for her super-flyweight Commonwealth title. Despite a brave and spirited effort, it wasn’t to be for the Worksop fighter as she lost her unbeaten record by way of a points decision over 10 good rounds to Dolan.

The wounds of battle were visible as we connected over Zoom less than 48 hours after a tough fight in which she let nobody down, least of all herself. The black eye was evident, and Hopewell wasn’t quite herself. She tries, but you know there is pain within.

“I went in there and did what I could,” Hopewell told me, you sense still a fighter trying to process what went wrong for her in Sheffield. “There were some things I could have done better, but there were other things I thought I did quite well. I caught her with some really good shots. But Emma was just bigger and rangier than what I thought she would be. I just couldn’t control the distance properly. I’ve been sparring taller fighters but not with the range that she had. I didn’t find her physically strong. It was just her range and the leverage of her punches and how they landed.”

The inner circle has already had those all-important and honest conversations trying to dissect what went wrong and what to do to put things right. A good sign that there is no false narrative being painted or irrelevant excuses being made. You can run, but you can’t hide from the truth. Hopewell has already started the rebuild. Reflective, honest, and balanced in her views of the fight.

“I don’t think I boxed as well as I could, I definitely think I could have done better,” the Worksop fighter told FightPost. “But when you are in there and you are trying to work her out, it’s different. If you are not used to someone who is that tall and has that range, it just makes it harder.”

The first defeat of her professional career was beyond painful. But Hopewell isn’t bitter. She knows her opponent was just too good for her on the night. Trust me, it happens. There was no real pre-fight animosity, and Hopewell has stayed classy in defeat, taking time to praise her opponent for an excellent performance.

“Emma has improved a lot since her last fight. I’ve watched her last fight over and over, and she was a completely different fighter against me. Carl Greaves has definitely improved her.”

After an even enough start, at least on this observer’s scorecard, Dolan seemed to pull away in the middle rounds. Hopewell realised quite early on that it wouldn’t be her night.

“It was quite early on, maybe around the 4th round, when I realised it wouldn’t be my night, but I wasn’t giving up because just one punch can change a fight. I just couldn’t get into range, and when I did, I wasn’t getting out fast enough. I emptied the tank in the last round, I left everything in there, but it just wasn’t my night.”

The scores were wide, probably too wide. Dolan won beyond doubt. The only doubt was how wide the judges had it. Scores of 98-92, 98-93, and 99-91 didn’t accurately reflect what Hopewell brought to the party. From ringside, I had it 97-93 for Dolan, and Hopewell I felt wasn’t given enough credit for some excellent work. It wasn’t a one-sided fight. Every round was competitive, but Dolan just edged the majority of them.

“I knew I’d lost, but I didn’t think it was that wide on the cards,” Hopewell said. “I wouldn’t have felt as bad if the scores had reflected the fight.”

When the original main event fell by the wayside, Dolan and Hopewell were promoted to main event status. Both fighters seemed to enjoy the limelight throughout the excellent pre-fight promotion. Despite the defeat, Hopewell can still look back with fondness on the whole experience.

“I enjoyed all the build-up and the ringwalk, and I didn’t feel any pressure. I wasn’t nervous or anything, I was the underdog, and that’s probably why I didn’t feel any pressure.”

There are always positives, and Hopewell can look back that after just four fights, she has had her first taste of a main event, her first major title opportunity, and she has also gone ten hard rounds for the first time. Certainly, for Hopewell, there are no regrets. And there shouldn’t be.

“I don’t regret taking the fight because I feel as though I’ve learned more from that fight than my three previous fights put together. You learn from these types of fights. I didn’t stop or give up.”

You can see the defeat still hurts, but there is no quit, only a determination to come back a better fighter. There was defeat on Friday night, but it won’t be the final chapter in the Nicola Hopewell story.

“I’ll come back a better fighter, and Friday night showed that I have got heart and that I never give up.”        

Hopewell will indeed return. It could be as early as December. It could be against Gemma Ruegg. There has been interest. There are worse fights for Hopewell. But only if the fight is made at a weight that is favourable to Hopewell.

There are decisions to be made going forward. I have always held the belief that flyweight would be where Hopewell shines best. There now seems to be an acceptance from the Hopewell camp that that is indeed where she belongs. What happened on Friday night was the best possible evidence that size matters. In many ways, it was a learning fight. A move to flyweight and Hopewell will find her natural home. And greater success.

Photo Credit: McMain Photos/GBM Sports