The FightPost Potential Stars of the Future: Gemma Richardson

The FightPost Potential Stars of the Future: Gemma Richardson

Women’s boxing has struggled somewhat of late. The peak of interest has dwindled, certainly to what it was only a few years ago. In many ways, with a few notable exceptions, progress stalled in 2024, and even world champions struggled to find what they needed. Certain promoters lost interest and downscaled their time and financial investment. But Jake Paul and his Most Valuable Promotions saw something everyone else didn’t. MVP is assembling a stable of stars. Some might say Jake Paul has saved women’s boxing. They wouldn’t be that far off the mark. Where would it be without him? Paul is making some serious moves. It really is the place to be. But inside or outside of that MVP, the talent is there.

In the UK alone, there are the elite fighters of the modern era that still reside at the top of those ever-debatable pound-for-pound rankings. Ellie Scotney, Chantelle Cameron, and Lauren Price currently have or previously held multiple versions of the world title between them. Caroline Dubois could be a potential superstar of her sport. We also have the likes of Karriss Artingstall and Emma Dolan, who will, in the not-too-distant future, be challenging for world titles. But for the sport to thrive rather than merely survive, the female side of the sport badly needs the future generation to come through the ranks. With the right promotion and opportunity, those fighters are very much there. In a series of incoming features, I will highlight some of those fighters who could make that all-important breakthrough in the next twelve months.

In previous articles, I have already highlighted two unbeaten prospects, Jade Pearce and Harli Whitwell, who could even be sharing a ring together somewhere down the line when the pair start chasing and challenging for titles in the super-featherweight division.

Gemma Richardson is another fighter who has the ability to reach the upper echelons of her sport. Richardson has an almost impeccable amateur career that sadly ended in controversy and an Olympic dream cruelly taken away from her. 2024 started with big dreams, but it could have been the year Richardson was lost to the sport. “2024 has been the worst year of my life,” Richardson told me late last year. “My dream got stolen. They stole my dream.”

That story has been well told on this platform, and the beyond-painful memories of how her Olympic dream ended left Richardson on the brink of walking away. But eventually, she found what she needed. “I was just heartbroken. But I had to let it go. The dream changes. The goal changes.”

Richardson turned professional, and in March, she made her professional debut by outpointing Angelika Oles over six rounds. Richardson was ill in the lead-up to that maiden ring walk in the professional ranks, and there were thoughts of Richardson being pulled out of the fight. But despite that somewhat problematic build-up, the class of Richardson was obvious. Especially in the closing rounds, once she had settled down after a frantic start.

But I thought we saw real glimpses of her undoubted talent in her second outing as a professional. In June, Richardson became the first fighter to stop the Czech import Tereza Dvorakova. That 5th-round stoppage in Hull was a little sign of what is to come. “I think I can reach the top,” Richardson told me the day after her second professional victory. “I do see that potential in me.”

It’s still very early days for the 24-year-old aspiring lightweight, but her impressive amateur resume and those two professional fights indicate that Gemma Richardson can indeed reach the very pinnacle of her sport.