Nicola Hopewell: Second Time Lucky?

Nicola Hopewell: Second Time Lucky?

Six months removed from her first Commonwealth title challenge that ended in defeat, Nicola Hopewell will get a second chance to become a Commonwealth champion when she fights Gemma Ruegg at the Magna Centre this Saturday night on the latest GBM Sports show for the vacant flyweight bauble.

Hopewell will have learned plenty from that night in Sheffield last October when Emma Dolan beat her on points in that failed attempt to become the Commonwealth super-flyweight champion. Despite a valiant effort to overcome numerous physical disadvantages, Hopewell found Dolan a little too much for her on a night where the Worksop fighter finally realised her future lay elsewhere. In boxing, you can’t hide the truth for long.

The decision to move down to flyweight was soon reached. A sensible decision that perhaps should have come sooner. But dropping a few pounds to fight at a more natural weight will serve her well going forward. It gives her career a new lease of life and a more than realistic hope that flyweight will give her resume a glint of gold. Maybe even more.

Hopewell returned earlier this year with a win. A short drive up the M1 to Bradford for a stay busy fight against the Hungarian import Kata Pap, who was comfortably beaten on points over six rounds. That victory put that sobering night when Dolan took away her unbeaten record firmly in the rear view mirror. It also earned her another tilt at a major title. Bradford might be a long way removed from the Saudi millions. But to Hopewell, it was an important step back on the road to redemption. A road that Hopewell will hope glitters with gold.

Izzy Asif, the incredibly ambitious GBM front man, you sense only deals with fighters with an ambition that matches his own. Hopewell is that kind of fighter. The defeat to Dolan hasn’t dampened her ambitions, only realigned them. Gemma Ruegg and the flyweight ranks could be the golden ticket for those lofty ambitions to be realised.

It is a fight of the utmost importance for Hopewell. A fighter who says one of her biggest regrets was not turning professional earlier. Too many years spent elsewhere on the boxing circuit left her with little time to waste taking fights without real meaning. Those early career decisions cost her time. But not everything. Hopewell was always likely to advance quickly if the opportunities arose. And they have.

But once that decision to turn professional finally came in 2022, Hopewell’s time since has been a mixed bag. Some good wins and performances have been stunted by no little frustration due to periods of inactivity. Hopewell would have also feared that her loss to Dolan would have been to severe a setback for her career to recover from. One solitary defeat can often lead to long periods in the boxing wilderness. At 32, Hopewell can’t afford to waste anymore time.

But any fears she may have had will now have long been discarded. The fight with Gemma Ruegg this Saturday night gives Hopewell an opportunity to regain everything she thought had been lost the last time she challenged for a Commonwealth title.

A win over Ruegg could really bring the bright lights. Chloe Watson, the European champion, would be an obvious target. But a fight with the unbeaten Matchroom fighter Maisey-Rose Courtney, who Hopewell beat in the amateurs, has long been mooted. If the Commonwealth title is in the hands of Hopewell, that fight will surely become a reality. Possibly one with the British title on the line. Watson, Courtney, and Hopewell bring quality and class to their division. Any combination of those fighters would be a joy to watch.

But Hopewell can not look too far ahead. She will know Ruegg will be no pushover despite her unflattering, if a little deceiving 7-10-1 resume. Ruegg will come to fight. She will come to win. At 39, it might be her last opportunity to land a major title. Make no mistake, Ruegg is more than capable of springing the upset. It’s a good old-fashioned straightener and one that sends the winner towards even bigger fights. But the loser will ultimately face an uncertain future. It really is that kind of fight. Hopewell will be expected to win. But the fight still has real jeopardy for her.

But if Hopewell uses her assets, she should win. The Worksop fighter has quicker hands and feet, and if she uses those advantages, at the second time of asking, Hopewell should wake up on Sunday morning the Commonwealth flyweight champion. In boxing terms, Hopewell can’t be there. Speed kills as they say. Hopewell can’t get greedy and fight her opponents type of fight. If she does, Ruegg can and will capitalise. In many ways, Hopewell can’t leave the door open.

But you suspect Hopewell will have learned enough from her reversal last October to not make tactical errors the second time around. It’s her second tilt at the Commonwealth bauble, she will hope it’s second time lucky. But Hopewell hopes luck won’t come into it. If the tactics are right, it won’t.

Photo Credit: Clive Woods