Jasmina Zapotoczna: From The Brink Of Walking Away, To A Shot At The European Title

Jasmina Zapotoczna: From The Brink Of Walking Away, To A Shot At The European Title

A Saturday night in Barnsley. Jasmina Zapotoczna was not there to fight. She was in full cheerleading mode. Her stablemate Callum Simpson was in search of British and Commonwealth super-middleweight honours at his beloved Oakwell Stadium. Simpson got the job done. His incredibly vocal faithful went home happy. The loyal teammate will get her big opportunity on September 27th. A fighter who has seen her career take an unexpected upward trajectory in recent times.

Jasmina Zapotoczna, not so long ago, had thoughts of walking away. Unbeaten, but the rewards of her unblemished resume hadn’t yet come. And she doubted that they ever would.

But in a somewhat ironic manner, it was in defeat that things began to change for Zapotoczna.

In February, Zapotoczna gambled in many ways. A fight at short notice against the unbeaten Matchroom prospect Shannon Ryan looked a step too far. Ryan was the bigger fighter and was in the home corner. Not many would have expected much in the way of success against the highly-touted Ryan.

But Zapotoczna surprised many. Ryan took away her unbeaten record, but the defeated fighter nevertheless impressed despite losing a decision that could be disputed at least a little. I thought Zapotoczna deserved at least a draw. But even in defeat, Zapotoczna had proved her point.

Maisey Rose Courtney should have fought Zapotoczna back in February until injury curtailed that particular fight. But last month, Zapotoczna got the call to fight again on a Matchroom show in the away corner. Second time lucky for all concerned. Courtney was the betting favourite, but a lot of smart money was on the upset. Five months earlier, Zapotoczna had sent a little warning to her rivals that she should not be underestimated.

Fighting at her more natural weight, the flyweight hopeful boxed quite beautifully at the Copper Box Arena. Zapotoczna needed a good start. And she got exactly what she needed. Boxing her way into a substantial early lead, and despite a strong late rally, Courtney never looked likely to close that gap on the cards and she lost her unbeaten record to Zapotoczna. After ten quality rounds, Zapotoczna got a thoroughly deserved decision and changed her whole fighting future in the process.

Zapotoczna will head back to London next month in pursuit of the European flyweight title. She will look to spoil the resume of another unbeaten prospect.

Chloe Watson comes with real pedigree. The Ricky Hatton-trained fighter has progressed nicely as a professional and could be within touching distance of a shot at a world title. But Zapotoczna represents the toughest test of her professional career to date. Watson will undoubtedly be favoured to retain her European bauble, but Zapotoczna has spoiled the party once before. She will look to do so once again at that iconic York Hall next month. From the brink of retirement, things are very different now for Jasmina Zapotoczna. And they might get even better.

Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing