Katie Riddle: “I love this sport with all my heart.”

Katie Riddle: “I love this sport with all my heart.”

It was a nightmare start to her professional boxing career in 2023. A first-round stoppage defeat at the hands of Jemma Peart wasn’t how it was supposed to go for Katie Riddle. But after some time away recovering from ankle surgery, the Australian finally returned in April and recorded her maiden victory in the pro ranks courtesy of an opening round victory over Febriyanti Lubis.

It was a night that, in many ways, still holds fond memories for Riddle. “I was very lucky to be involved in a little show quite close to home in rural Victoria,” Riddle told FightPost. “It was a very different but great experience getting to fight in front of a lot of people from our hometown. Including some of my family for the first time.”

“It was a mix of emotions,” Riddle added. “Firstly, because it was my first fight back after ankle surgery. So that in itself felt like a huge achievement. And of course, it was nice to get a win on the board after what was a disaster of a start to the pros.”

After her defeat to Peart, there were plenty of demons to overcome leading up to her second professional fight. Riddle had inner questions to answer about her ability to hold a punch, but a much better training camp, the second time around, left Riddle confident that it would be a completely different result against Lubis. And so it proved.

“Yes, I did feel a lot of pressure going into it,” Riddle admitted. “I guess I was just nervous that I had lost my chin after my pro debut. But I had been sparing with the current Australian Champion and good friend of mine, April Napthine, so I knew that my fight was not going to be anything in comparison to the rounds that I did with her, which gave me confidence in my defence more than anything.”

At 32 and with a blossoming family life, Katie Riddle knows her time is somewhat limited in her sport. But she hopes to add further to her resume before the retirement call is finally made. “I am certainly nearing the end of my career,” Riddle told me. “I have two little ones who are at the age where they will start to play their own sports soon, and the focus will shift to them. I plan to have one or two more fights, most likely early next year, and then I will hang up the gloves. But I have achieved more in boxing than I ever set out to do.

“I love this sport with all my heart, and it hurts me to think of life without the grind of fight camp. But I do feel it’s almost time. So I will certainly cherish these last couple of camps, that’s for sure. And who knows, maybe one of the kids will love this sport as much as I do.”

Not every boxer fights for titles. In a sport that is littered with meaningless baubles, some fighters fight for different things. “I do the sport because I just love it,” Riddle once told me. Her time in the sport might be drawing to a close, albeit with a chapter or two left to write, but as Riddle says herself, she is happy with her accomplishments in boxing. A content fighter can live quite happily in retirement. On that point, Katie Riddle will be one of the lucky ones.