Ringside Report: Nicola Hopewell Beats Marie Connan To Win The IBO World Flyweight Title

Ringside Report: Nicola Hopewell Beats Marie Connan To Win The IBO World Flyweight Title

Nicola Hopewell recorded the best win of her career on Saturday night in Sheffield to beat Marie Connan on a split-decision and, in the process, lift the IBO world flyweight title.

At times, it was overly messy, but the majority of the clean work was done by Hopewell, and from ringside, I had no issue with the title changing hands. Hopewell can undoubtedly box far better, but Connan deserves credit for her performance. Hopewell had to work hard for her victory, but she can be immensely proud of her night’s work.

But Connan, who was returning from an extended injury-related absence, didn’t let go of her title without one hell of a fight. The now former champion made it incredibly hard for the Worksop fighter. Connan was the fighter who made a better start. I gave her the opening two rounds. But Hopewell started to find her best form, using her feet more and finding more space to utilise her better boxing skills. I gave Hopewell her first round of the night in the 3rd, and her upturn in success continued for the next few rounds. I thought Connan was starting to fade somewhat in the 5th round, and when Hopewell put Connan down in the 6th, there looked to be only one winner.

However, Connan kept fighting, never giving up, despite everything seemingly going against her.
The two evenly matched flyweights shared the final four rounds on my card. Hopewell was never comfortable, and she neglected her jab at times, and Hopewell spent far too much of the fight fighting at a range that suited her opponent. Although Connan dragged her into that kind of fight. But I thought overall, Hopewell was the better fighter, even though the cards were a little too close for comfort.

I had Hopewell winning six rounds, and with the knockdown, my card had Hopewell three points up after ten close, competitive rounds. But the three scoring officials were surprisingly split. One judge had Connan retaining her title by a somewhat surprising 96-93, but was overruled by scores of 95-94 and a deciding 96-93, which matched my scorecard.

At 33, Hopewell will look to build on the biggest win of her nine-fight career. While Gabriela Fundora holds the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO flyweight baubles, Hopewell can use her IBO title as currency for some bigger fights down the road. The European champion, Jasmina Zapotoczna, is an obvious choice, as is former amateur victim Maiseyrose Courtney. The former European champion, Chloe Watson, and Laura Pain will both surely have an interest in fighting Hopewell. But on merit, Zapotoczna is the fighter on the bigger career trajectory right now. The IBO bauble adds value to all those potential fights. Defending that newly-won title against random imports, fighters of far lesser importance seem to be touch pointless. It should be used for bigger and better. Progression and not regression were the words I used pre-fight. If you have that IBO title, use it well. Hopewell will hope her team now delivers her some big fights.