Lynsey Perrin: “I want to go as far as I can go.”

Lynsey Perrin: “I want to go as far as I can go.”

They say age is just a number. Lynsey Perrin is a firm believer in that. A former amateur. Age restrictions put a halt to that. Perrin then wanted to turn professional under the traditional route.

“I applied for a British Boxing Board of Control licence, but I didn’t get one,” Perrin told me over Zoom. I don’t know if that was because of my age, I was 40 when I applied. But I applied for a BIBA licence and got one.”

Before it all began for real, Perrin always had a passion for her sport. “I’ve always liked boxing. But I never had the opportunity when I was younger, because I am a 1983 baby. Boxing wasn’t really around for women back then.”

It was a different time back then. Women’s boxing wasn’t really a thing. Certainly not in the way it is now. Jane Couch was the catalyst for change. Katie Taylor took it to another level. Before the female side of the sport found some semblance of acceptance, many aspiring fighters went elsewhere. That different time meant that Perrin started her boxing journey a little later than she probably would have liked.

“I started boxing when I was 34,” Perrin told me. “Which was quite late. I had about 18 amateur fights. I did win the Development championships. I reached the semi-finals of the Elite championships. So, I didn’t do too badly considering I started so late. But the age limit is 40, so I couldn’t carry on. But I wasn’t ready to stop boxing, I wanted to carry on and turn professional. To me, age is just a number. I don’t feel my age. I am very young-minded. I am very fit. I carried on. I have had five fights and won them all, and I am just waiting for more fights.”

“Boxing keeps me on the straight and narrow,” Perrin added, “It’s not only that, I am very passionate about it. I love the sport. I absolutely love it. I like the fitness side of it. I like fighting. I think it helps you mentally as well.

“It keeps you disciplined as well. When I have had some rough patches in my life, it has really helped me. If I didn’t box, I don’t know what I would have been like sometimes. So boxing really helps me. It’s like a release for me. I don’t really go out much now. Which is good, because I am then good. It’s also the people in boxing. It’s like a family. I also coach as well. I love helping the kids out. I prefer boxing myself, but I do enjoy the coaching.”

It looks very much like boxing will remain in the family. Her son is an amateur boxer. “I love watching him box,” Perrin told me. “I have worked his corner and everything. It’s a bit stressful because you just want him to do well. But he’s on a break at the moment. He is 17, so he is in his own little bubble. He has gone to college to become an electrician.”

There are no immediate thoughts of retirement. Only a desire to fight as long as she can. Perrin returns on July 11th in a fight for the vacant PBC Commonwealth super-flyweight title that will take place in Malta. The Midlands fighter hopes more titles will come her way. “I want to go as far as I can go. People might talk about my age, but I am probably fitter than some of the kids in the class. I don’t have a lot of miles on the clock because I started so late.