Hannah Robinson: “I think mentally I needed a plan, and I needed to know where I was going.”

Hannah Robinson: “I think mentally I needed a plan, and I needed to know where I was going.”

Hannah Robinson had her second outing of the year at the Eston Leisure Centre in Middlesbrough on Saturday night. It was win number four for the former two-time National Amateur Champion. And by far her most significant. Robinson impressively moved to 4-0 in winning every round against the previously unbeaten Georgia Klein.

Robinson can be pleased with her night’s work against an opponent who was competitive throughout their six-round contest. However, despite the nature of her win against Klein, Robinson still sees room for improvement.

“I’m quite critical of my own performances,” Robinson told me over Zoom. “I think I warmed into it once I relaxed a bit. I was a little tense in the first two rounds. I think I am better when I have a looser guard and using my reactions, I can’t really do that when I am tense. After the second round, I settled into it, and I found it quite comfortable after that.”

“I wanted to box and use my boxing skills rather than load up and throw silly shots,” Robinson added. “I did find her a bit awkward because I thought he would come forward more. She came forward for the first few rounds, but once I traded with her a bit and landed a few shots, she went on the back foot. If I were to criticise myself, I wasn’t taking my feet in with me to close the gap, and sometimes, I was falling short with my shots. But as the fight went on, I was getting my feet into range a bit more. I think if it were an eight-round fight, I probably would have stopped her.”

Robinson was awarded a wide 60-54 decision over Klein, but despite that somewhat one-sided scorecard, it is perhaps not a true reflection of the fight.

“I thought I won every round, but I don’t think Georgia was ever out of it the whole fight,” Robinson told me. “With some of the journeywomen, sometimes you can just switch off, but on Saturday, I thought it was always competitive. I thought the opening two rounds were close, but I think I edged them both. But after that, I thought I took over and dominated the rounds completely.”

Georgia Klein offered something different for Robinson. A fellow prospect who had plenty of ambition herself. A new experience that the winner took plenty from. “When you are going in with someone you are more or less guaranteed to win against, you don’t get nervous. But this time, I knew Georgia had an undefeated record and she was coming to win, so it gave me that feeling in my stomach, so I knew I had to be up for this fight and do my job. That was probably why I was a little bit tense in the first few rounds. But it’s a good experience to have those fights, so you can learn how to deal with all those pre-fight nerves. It has prepared me for other fights where they come to win, so I will be better prepared mentally next time.”

Robinson has made changes to her inner circle. A new trainer and new management, moving her training base close to her North-East home. The difference is obvious. “I feel a lot more relaxed now, and I have got a lot more consistency,” Robinson relayed to FightPost. “I’m training in my home environment, and my trainer knows me from the amateurs. I go to Spain to see my family, and I can train over there as well. I am training at home, and my partner is here, and I am surrounded by family and friends. It doesn’t seem as hard now. It feels like just part of my life. I loved working with Jamie Moore and Nigel Travis, but you are only in the gym with them for an hour, and the rest of the time, I was in Manchester on my own. I was the only female in the gym as well, so I did feel a little isolated down there. But I feel a lot more at home now, and my new management is keeping me busy. I think mentally I needed a plan, and I needed to know where I was going. We’ve had these two fights planned, and hopefully, I’ll have another two fights before the end of the year.”

“I’d like another test and to step up again so that when I do box for titles, I will have ticked off some boxes,” Robinson says of what she is looking for in those two fights. “When I do box for the British, Commonwealth, or European titles, I want to have boxed eight rounds against a good opponent and answer some questions.”

When Robinson turned professional in 2024, it was a year of frustration, as the reality of the professional ranks hit home.

“I did find it challenging, I still am now,” Robinson admitted. “I have to sell tickets, and I am not making any money from any of the fights I am doing at the moment. I am just making enough to cover the costs of my opponent. It is like a short-term investment in myself, which hopefully will change next year. It is difficult, but I am in a position now where I can see a path forward. It’s only temporary, this part of it. This is the part where some people pack it in because they are not making any money. But if you can get out the other side and get to those bigger fights, it will all pay off in the end.”       

Everything is seemingly falling into place for Hannah Robinson. Inside and outside of the ring, the unbeaten super-lightweight prospect is getting there. A fighter who has so far gone under the radar, but that could be about to change. We got a little reminder of her talent against Georgia Klein, and you would hope that sooner rather than later, the bigger promoters will come calling. They should.