Nicola Hopewell: Kate Radomska & Beyond

Nicola Hopewell: Kate Radomska & Beyond

Kate Radomska will be Nicola Hopewell’s first opponent in 2025. It will be a ten-round non-title fight that Hopewell hopes will be the catalyst for a productive and rewarding year.

Hopewell, the reigning Commonwealth flyweight champion, will fight Radomska on March 1st in Sheffield. It will be the second fight under the Dennis Hobson banner. Hobson has promised Hopewell something big for fight number three, but the Worksop fighter will need to navigate her way past Radomska before she even thinks of what could possibly lie ahead.

Radomska, despite a somewhat unflattering resume of only four wins in nine fights, should not be underestimated. Radomska has lost her last two fights, a 3rd round stoppage defeat to Shannon Ryan in December, followed a one-sided defeat to the current European champion Chloe Watson. But there are still performances on her record that suggest Hopewell won’t have it all her own way at the State Central.

A wafer-thin thin points defeat to Gemma Ruegg in 2022, who Hopewell beat to win the Commonwealth bauble, has aged well. But Radomska also gave Maisey Rose Courtney a very good fight in 2023. Courtney, the then-unbeaten Matchroom prospect, escaped with a narrow 58-57 victory in their Dublin fight. A near-miss in the away corner that could easily have gone the other way on another show. But Radomska showed in the fights with Ruegg and Courtney that she is more than capable of pushing the house fighter. Hopewell will need to be on her best form to win. On any given night, Radomska can be a handful for anyone. A win over the once-beaten Hopewell would significantly change the career trajectory of Radomska. You sense she will come with plenty of ambition herself. A win could change everything for Kate Radomska.

But Hopewell is seemingly in the form of her life. The win over Ruegg last April, which earned her the Commonwealth flyweight title, was followed by a good win over the dangerous Nigerian Mary Aina Abbey. It looked a highly risky fight on paper, and the Abbey team fancied it as they say, but after an even enough opening few rounds, Hopewell eventually pulled away on the cards. A 10th-round knockdown was a nice little highlight clip for social media. Abbey faded down the stretch, and Hopewell won by unanimous scores of 99-89.

Hopewell seems revitalised since moving down to flyweight after her unsuccessful attempt at the Commonwealth super-flyweight title against Emma Dolan in 2023. Three wins since that defeat to the impressive Dolan have seen Hopewell put herself back into position. A win over Radomska next month would push her onto even bigger things.

A double-title showdown with Chloe Watson looks too good a fight to ignore. The European champion has to first deal with Jasmina Zapotoczna, who is her mandatory challenger, and that will be easier said than done. Zapotoczna took away the unbeaten record of Maisey Rose Courtney last year, and she will fancy her chances of replicating that against the talented Watson. But if Watson does prevail against Zapotoczna, a Watson/Hopewell is an obvious fight to make. The winner would surely be in the world title conversation. A good fight where the winner moves on, and the loser can come again.

But Dennis Hobson is a master of navigating his fighters. Hobson might see a route straight to world titles. While a fight with the undisputed flyweight champion of the world Gabriela Fundora would seem a stretch for many reasons, but the lesser-regarded IBO title is currently held by the French fighter Marie Connan. Hobson has gone that route previously, he could do so again with Hopewell. But the Worksop fighter will be aware that she has more immediate concerns with Kate Radomska before she dares dream of anything else.