Hannah Robinson: “Charlie was game, and definitely the toughest fight I’ve had so far. It was also my best performance as well.”

Hannah Robinson: “Charlie was game, and definitely the toughest fight I’ve had so far. It was also my best performance as well.”

It was the day after her biggest night to date as a professional boxer. A unanimous points victory over Charlie Sutton at the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle secured Hannah Robinson her first silverware. One fight. Two titles. Robinson hopes more will follow.

After the high emotions of fight week, many a fighter suffers a downward reaction of their emotions. “You do,” Robinson admits. “You don’t get much sleep. Obviously, I was last on this time, and I didn’t get in the ring until about 10:45. So, it was quite late, and by the time we had finished, it was after midnight. Then we got to the hotel, and my adrenaline was still going. I don’t know where I am at the moment. I am tired, but I am going to power through.

“There is definitely a bit of a drop, and because you build it up so much in your head. For one night and one fight, it’s like what’s next or what’s now. You focus so much on that 30-minutes of work, and then you think that’s done now. You put yourself through so much in camp, and you think you can’t wait until it’s over. But when it is over, you kind of feel a little bit lost.”

Robinson won wide on the cards to claim the Commonwealth Silver and IBF European super-lightweight titles. But it was competitive throughout the ten rounds, even though there was little doubt that Robinson had won the fight.

“To be honest, it was a lot tougher than I expected it to be,” Robinson admitted. “In the first four rounds, I used my boxing ability. But in the mid-rounds, I got a little involved when I didn’t really need to. It was my first time going ten rounds, and after four rounds, I felt quite tired, and I thought I had six more rounds to go yet. But then I didn’t get any more tired. I then got to rounds seven and eight, and I was fine. I could see the finish line then. So the next time I do ten rounds, I know I can put in a higher tempo from the start, knowing I have got it in me.”

“It was a fast pace, and she took quite a few good shots as well,” Robinson added. “Her jab was good as well; she has long levers. But once I started to turn my back hand over, I was catching her coming around the side. Charlie was a good, worthy opponent. I didn’t know what to expect from her going into the fight because there was no footage of her to watch. So I didn’t really have any idea what she was like. I went in blind. I was trying different things in the fight and just seeing what worked. Charlie was game, and definitely the toughest fight I’ve had so far. It was also my best performance as well. I showed a bit of heart and grit in there, and my boxing skills as well. I showed I can give some shots and take some shots back as well. In my own head, I needed to answer that as well. It was a good developing fight for me.”

Robinson had a really strong final round. Her best round of the fight, catching Sutton with some really hard punches. “She was hanging on, wasn’t she?” Sutton said of that 10th round. “I could probably have put my foot on the gas a little sooner. But that’s just the experience of boxing the ten rounds. In the back of my head, I was thinking I don’t want to tire out with four or five rounds still to go. So it’s giving me a lot of experience in respect to going the full ten rounds. Rather than blasting someone out in a few rounds, it was a good experience doing the ten rounds against a strong, worthy opponent.”

Those two titles are vitally important for the career of Hannah Robinson. “I think it’s put me in the top twenty in the world on Boxrec, and it should get me an IBF ranking as well. I think it will open up some opportunities for me. The reason I couldn’t box for a British title was that I hadn’t fought more than six rounds. But now I have done ten rounds and made championship weight. So hopefully, it opens those doors now for me.”

Robinson was in the home corner, and after paying for her opponent, sanctioning and house fees, the winner didn’t earn a single penny from the biggest fight of her career to date. A familiar tale for Robinson in her six professional fights to date. The 32-year-old hopes that won’t happen again.

“I told my manager that this is the last one. It’s a lot of hassle trying to sell tickets and pay for my opponent. I think now people should come to me for opportunities, even if I am in the away corner, just so I can get paid for it. If it’s for another belt, then it is worth that risk. That’s what I want to do now. I have built my background and got a couple of titles behind me now. Maybe something at European level. Probably a couple more fights like I have just had. Fighting different styles and doing ten rounds again. I don’t really want to be fighting if there isn’t a belt on the line. I definitely don’t want to be selling tickets and funding myself anymore. If that means going on the road for a challenge, then I feel I am ready for that now.”

Hannah Robinson is moving towards the business end of her career. With two titles already secured, Robinson wants more, and they should follow. A British, Commonwealth, or European title could be in her immediate future. But the longer aim is to be challenging for world titles. Robinson wants them next year.

Photo Credit: Andy Futers