Hannah Robinson: “At this stage of my career, Wasserman are the perfect promoter for me, as I try and build myself domestically and work towards a title shot.”

Hannah Robinson: “At this stage of my career, Wasserman are the perfect promoter for me, as I try and build myself domestically and work towards a title shot.”

By Matt Elliott

Back in May, at the Rainton Meadows Arena on the outskirts of Sunderland, Hannah Robinson finally made her long-awaited professional debut. After success as an amateur, Robinson turned over last year, but a persistent back injury delayed her progress and meant she had to remain patient as she waited for a fight date. It finally came in front of a home crowd, who provided strong vocal support as Robinson delivered victory with a 59-56 points decision win against Johana Rochl.

Fast forward almost three months and Robinson has another fight date locked in, as she is set to feature on the undercard of the EBU European Bantamweight clash between Thomas Essomba and Charlie Edwards at York Hall on September 27. On the back of that, it has also been announced that she has signed a three-fight promotional deal with Wasserman Boxing.

I caught up with Robinson this past week, who was in a buoyant mood as she explained how the opportunity with Wasserman had come about.

“I spoke to Kalle a while back when he was in the North East for a Josh Kelly show. I introduced myself to him, and he knew who I was. My manager Lee (Eaton) had further conversations from there and managed to get a deal over the line, so I am pleased about that as it takes the pressure away from selling tickets. In my first fight, I made no money, the revenue I generated from selling tickets went to cover my opponent’s costs, so to have a guaranteed wage for each of the next three fights really helps.”

With Wasserman comes the potential to feature on the televised element of their shows, with both Channel Five currently the lead broadcaster. The Sauerlands have also proven that they can take a female fighter into the title scene, having worked with Chloe Watson since her debut, with the Liverpool-born fighter winning the European flyweight title last time out. If the first three fights prove to be a success, does Robinson see this turning into a longer-term arrangement?

“It’s three fights initially, but Lee’s pretty confident that if I put in some good performances, that he knows I’m capable of, that the offer will be extended or improved. Potentially getting that TV exposure opens up other opportunities as well, in respect of attracting other sources of income from sponsorship and stuff. Lee wants me to have five fights and then start challenging for titles, so from the middle of next year, I want to be targeting a British, Commonwealth, or European belt. At this stage of my career, Wasserman are the perfect promoter for me, as I try and build myself domestically and work towards a title shot.”

Her debut took place at super lightweight, but Robinson confirmed that moving forward, she will drop down a division and look to compete for titles at 135lbs, recognising the potential for some huge fights at that weight.

“I will be looking to fight down at lightweight in the future and targeting titles in that division. I was a bit heavier than I would have liked in my last fight because I hadn’t fought in over a year and had been recovering from injury but with not fighting again until September, it has allowed me to work on things in the gym and to rest properly and bring my weight down gradually, as opposed to having to prepare for another fight. I feel there are some great opportunities at 135lbs, which is why I want to compete there. I think there are exciting fights to be made both domestically and internationally, so it’s a really good division to be involved in. The fact that the promoters seem more willing to work together now as well should hopefully mean it is easier for fights to be made.”

Whoever Robinson faces over the next three fights, it is unlikely she will endure the kind of test she did back in May. When a boxer with a strong amateur pedigree makes their professional debut, it is not unusual for a fairly one-sided fight to play out, but that was certainly not the case on this occasion. I was fortunate enough to be ringside that night, and Johana Rochl was not simply showing up for a payday. She came to win. How does Robinson reflect on the night, and how does she rate her performance?

“The whole experience was brilliant. Having boxed internationally with Team GB it’s been a long time since I’ve fought in the UK, let alone the North East, so to have all my family and friends there was excellent and really helped. It added to the pressure, but I tried to soak it all up. Immediately after the fight, I was a bit frustrated with my performance, but looking back, I think I did well given what I had in front of me. I am used to boxing well-schooled amateurs at a high level, so it was a bit of a shock to get in there with someone who was quite wild, a southpaw as well, and she came to have a go. She was nowhere near my skill level, but she was unorthodox, and I didn’t know which shot to expect next. She caught me a few times, so I at least realised what it feels like to be hit with smaller gloves. At the end of the day, though, fighting someone who was game and who came to win ticks a lot of boxes, so I think that can only be a great experience for the future.”

After the show in September, Robinson is hoping to get out again before the end of the year, with a potential North East date on the horizon. Both of those will be six-rounders before stepping up to eight in the new year. With her short-term promotional deal sorted, she has also been investing time into her personal brand, recognising the importance of this in developing her profile and helping her gain more recognition.

“Behind the scenes, I am doing a lot of work to build my profile and develop my brand outside of boxing. I have just agreed to work with a company called Blonde Creative who work with branding and social media marketing, so they are going to help me out with content and growing my online presence, which in turn will hopefully help get my name out there a bit more and generate opportunities on the sponsorship front. It’s quite hard to think of content and new ideas of what to post online, so they will help with that and make my profile more consistent so I have a brand image that I can carry throughout my career. Hopefully, the exposure with Wasserman will tie in nicely with that.”

We concluded our catch-up by returning to September’s fight at York Hall, as well as Robinson’s move to the lightweight division and her hopes for the future.

“I won my first ABA title at York Hall with Birtley Boxing Club, so it holds some good memories for me and it’s a great venue which carries a good atmosphere, so I can’t wait to fight there as a professional. Beyond that, I have a huge belief in what I can achieve. I’ve sparred with most of those at world level, and it’s always been competitive. I believe I am at that level, I just need to get more in-ring experience to gain that extra confidence, but skill-wise I’m there. Once I get the added experience I’ll be ready to compete.”