AIR DATE:
EPISODE: Episode 21
Joining Mike and Cedric in the studio is Hannah Rankin, a Scottish professional boxer and bassoonist. She has held the WBA female super-welterweight title since November 2021.
Watch Knuckle Up’s Mike Orr, who always discusses up-and-coming young, hungry, and (usually) undefeated boxers during his live daily show at 4pm EST (9pm UK) on TalkinFight.com or YouTube.com/c/TalkinFight
https://talkinfight.com/live-with-hannah-rankin-knuckle-up-with-mike-and-cedric-talkin-fight-2/
#TalkinFight #KnuckleUp #HannahRankin
#TeamRankin @Team_Rankin @hannah.rankin.900
Transcribed:
[, Music, ], hello and welcome back to talk and fight barton fans around the world.
Thank you for joining us once again.
Another episode of knuckle up featuring mike gore at war and centric fan who’s in the dan with us today and today, we’ve got a super special guest coming in from us who’s over in the uk right now across the pond waiting to join us so go ahead.
Mike introduce our special guest and let’s get rock and roll.
Yes.
Today we have hannah rankin, current ibo and wba light middleweight champion is in the house today and we’re going to talk to her about her wonderful career, how she got started in it and remember: cedric bassoon a bassoonist.
You want to know what this is about yeah, so we’re definitely going to talk to her about this and how she uh achieved that wonderful uh, you know degree in in in music and how she talks at the same time.
So yes, without further ado, let’s get her in here.
Graham sorry, we’re going to knock you out thanks for joining us! Well, we’ll see you later hi guys, hey hannah.
How are you i’m doing my love likes? Thank you for taking the time out to come and join us here on knuckle up.
I know you’re very busy, uh camp’s about to start for you and you’re in the gym all the time.
So let’s just get right into it, um.
What age did you start boxing and what made you start competing so i actually started boxing really late um.
I was uh when i was a child in taekwondo, so i had an introduction to combat sports.
When i was quite young did taekwondo me and my sister and i like i always say i think my mom did it to stop us fighting at home.
You know so she was like we’re going to have organized fighting elsewhere, so i’ve always loved combat sports, but i didn’t actually get back into them until the end of my undergraduate.
When i was like right, i’ve got to get fit and the normal sort of gym set up, but you say you’re supposed so boring.
I was like i like the treadmill.
I like the road machine and i’m leaving.
So i was like i’ll get back into some sort of combat sport and um.
I started doing some thai boxing in glasgow and then, when i moved to london to do my masters, i thought i was in 20.
21.
22, at this time, 22.
um – and i i started doing some thai boxing down here then i met my coach, noel callan and also a former heavyweight champ uh, derek sweet d williams um.
I met him as well.
They both introduced me to boxing and i fell in love with.
It – absolutely fell in love with it um, so i was just doing it for fitness and really enjoying it, and then i was doing sparring and then of course went to the next step.
So did some white collar boxing, which is a sort of charity boxing here, where you can do three two minute rounds and raise money for charity.
You know like bankers, and you know businessmen they’ll, give it a go and i was like i want to do that.
So i got into that and then i wanted to take you to the next step and my coach said: well, you can join amateur club and then you can compete with them.
I was like well, can i still train with you and he’s like? No, i’m not an amateur coach, and so i was like well throughout my whole life.
If things have been working with teachers that i’ve worked with, then i stay with them, so i was like well, i want to stay with you.
So how do i stay with you and compete um and he was like? Well, we could go professional, but we’d have to see how you do with some sparring and you know see if you’re really up for it sort of thing um.
So he took me sparring with uh at the time it was kelly morgan.
She was a wbc silver champion middleweight and she she used to be a javelin thrower, so she had a right hand from god um.
I remember this clearly and sparring um.
First time i’ve ever been in with a professional, and it was like an eye-opening experience.
For me, because i was like wow, these people are punch, hard, they’re explosive, but you know – and i definitely got my ass worked absolutely.
This wasn’t the first time you sparred, but it’s the first time you sparred someone on like a different level yeah on a pro level.
I was like oh there’s, some more stuff to this.
Like you know, it’s gon na be a few things, but you know i got out and um.
I was like right.
No, when are we coming back? I want to do more of this and this and he always says that it was that sort of, like curiosity and like determination to always be better that he decided that he was like right.
I’Ll take i’ll tell you pro, let’s go, let’s do it um and everyone thought i was nuts.
You know like zero amateur experience.
You just went right to pro absolutely, and i was like i’ve always been like that with things i want to do um.
If i really enjoy something – and i want to see how far i can take it – i’ll go 150, you know like all all out um.
If i love it, that’s what i do and you know you never know where you’re going to end up.
So you might as well give it your best and actually for me, is i just found something that i truly love and thankfully i’ve excelled and learned a lot along the way.
So yeah it’s been good.
Definitely definitely your current record right now is uh.
I believe it’s eleven five and two uh with two knockouts right: yeah, that’s awesome! Um! So can you describe your first pro fight the feeling, the feeling that you went through? I know i know it was a win.
I know you won your first two.
It was your third fight.
Was your first loss uh describe this the first, the feeling that you went through.
I remember it being mental.
I remember thinking.
I can’t believe i’m doing this.
I can’t believe i’m doing this and, like you know, you’ve had all the the prep in the lead up to it, and i had my hair braided properly for the first time, and i you know i was just like i wasn’t going to wear headguards.
I was really happy about this because i hate wearing hair guard, so this was the best part i was getting little gloves like.
Oh these feel great.
My coach is like yeah, but don’t forget your opponent gets little gloves too.
You know not just you um, and i remember we was in this, like old nightclub in um south end, like east east, london, outside london and um, i had to walk through the kitchen to get to the ring.
You know it’s one of those tiny little shows.
I don’t know walking past these pots and pans and ladles, and i was like this is surreal.
Then i went out and like kicked butt for six rounds, you know so i was just like he’s mad and um.
I remember it just being really really crazy and and for me, i’d had like three or four um disappointments in the lead up to that where i thought i was going to fight and i wasn’t fighting, i was going to fight, so i just couldn’t actually wait To get in there, and i can’t really tell you a single minute of what happened when i was in that ring my arm getting raised and me thinking.
Oh it’s outside that’s awesome! So now that you went through that experience, can you say and um? Would you say you have a little bit more of a uh you’re, more comfortable in your in your training camp routine, like you, like, you know, what’s going to happen like you’re, more common, that just comes with the experience right, so you obviously you feel more comfortable When you’re trying absolutely like, i think you you like they always say you can’t buy experience and it’s so true.
It’S one of those things you just have to get out and do it and learn on the job and learn how things are going and obviously having not had a extensive amateur background in any way i hadn’t actually boxed like live.
I hadn’t actually competed that many times i’d only done like six or seven white collar fights, so you know for me to start going into the pro game it i was going in there quite blind, so i’ve always been learning on the job, which has been great In some ways, because i’ve actually been able to adapt and change and every time i get in the ring, i’m a slightly different, improved fighter um, instead of coming into it with a ready-built style style that i already know, and so i’m always growing as a fighter Which is great, but also it doesn’t mean you’ve got like the ship parts where you’re gon na learn quite a lot very quickly.
Did your coach ever explain to you the reason why um, because there’s there’s some coaches, i know some coaches that that do coach, amateur boxers and professional boxers and they’re also there’s some coaches.
That only do one of the other.
Did your coach ever explain to you? The reason why he didn’t want to he just wanted to go right to right to the pro and not he tried to get me to go to an amateur club.
As he always says.
I tried to get rid of her, but she wasn’t going anywhere um.
No, he he actually got his pro license to take me professional uh before that he hadn’t taken anyone pro and he’d, been working with boxers he’d been doing a lot of their strength and conditioning sides of it as well, and that’s where his experience laid there, but Also he used to fight when he was younger.
He did boxing mma um has been involved with boxing for a long time.
He just never thought to take somebody professional, so you know he was like right.
I think you’re determined and you’re going to stick it out.
So, let’s do it nice great, it’s turned out! Well, so far, [ Laughter, ], you uh you fight for your first uh world title.
I believe in your sixth fight, that was for the wbc silver female middle title, and yes, so, my sixth fight that was wbc silva yeah, so that was such an exciting night.
For me, it was like my first proper title um and it was at home in scotland in front of my family and friends.
Um, and you know it was meant to be for the 150 uh.
The junior middleweight was gon na, be for 154 title but then like before it like two weeks out like there’s a change of opponent, because there’s a problem with the girl that was meant to be fighting.
Then it has to get changed to the 160.
And i’m thinking i just want to get in there.
You know i don’t care who it is, but my coach always says like that is definitely the reason.
He’S lost all his hair.
You know that was a very stressful lead up to that fight um, but it was an amazing night against santa terrenin uh finnish goal and um.
I remember it really clearly uh just one of those nights we i’ll never forget, never, definitely, definitely one of the biggest accolades so far in the career.
At that point in time, right so yeah um.
What uh do you have any short plans? Uh, like any short-term goals that uh you’re trying to accomplish at the moment, uh yeah, so obviously in boxing uh, i’ve got my first defense of my world titles coming up, so very short-term goal is to have my arm raised in here and still this is a Short-Term goal: what’s the date for that um, so it’s not been announced yet.
So i can’t tell you unfortunately, yes, i would love to um, but yeah it’s coming up soon.
It should be announced, hopefully for april sometime um and then everybody’s gon na get a chance to tune in on fight zone and watch it so yeah, i’m buzzing i’ll, be headlining the show as well um.
So i’m very excited – and i think that’s a big step forward with women’s boxing we’re now seeing more women headlining shows, which is just a real positive.
So that’s good, hopefully uh, hopefully you’ll be headlining um, our sunday show knockout of the week.
So we’re expecting you to headline that pretty soon too um, so uh cedric, i’m just kidding questions i i know you’re so good about them.
Yeah, yeah yeah.
As far as now.
What um? What do you feel? What do you feel is your your um, your strongest weapon now that you’ve been learning on the job? Of course, like you said in your first fight, you know you can’t even remember it, because everything was just about that’s how it is for everyone and that’s the other thing too.
You know that just shows um the heart that you have, because it’s one thing to have to start as an amateur.
I know how you know everyone is, as their first amateur amateur match.
You know you had your first professional match as your first.
You know competition that takes a lot of heart just to just to do that, so i got ta commend you for that um.
Now.
Where do you feel as you? What do you feel is your strength like as far as your you know your hardest punch or where do you feel that you you excel at in your uh in your skill level, i think uh, probably mentally, i’m incredibly strong uh.
I have a very strong team around me and one that i’ve built up from the very bottom and people have been with me all the way through my career, so i have great support there um and i i am kind of the most competitive with myself.
I just will not be beat like you know, one of those things and um.
I will always push myself like harder faster more than anybody else, and i will not be outworked and i think that’s something that is probably one of my main strengths uh when it comes to preparing for fights, because i will always push myself that extra bit so That i know when i get in the ring, i couldn’t have done it anymore in my training for it.
So that’s my main strength, yeah.
What about um and as far as scarring partners? Where exactly are you or do you hold most of your training camps and how do you you know? How do you regulate that you know as far as um sparring partners do you have to travel around or well? I think that’s really changed so when i first started out, i traveled a lot for sparring.
I was over in europe a lot i was in sweden, germany and i just used a lot of my own personal savings to get myself experienced because that at that time there wasn’t that many female fighters in the uk – and we still haven’t – got that many at The moment, but it is rising um and so i chose to you, know, use money to travel.
That’S why i wanted to travel, get the experience of sparring, um and obviously had great experience in america as well.
Like i love being in america and like i have some great friends over there and also some i’ve spot with some brilliant people over there, too, so yeah, i think traveling for aspiring, is good here now in in london.
There’S quite a lot of girls available around my weight.
It started to grow, you know, and especially with people.
Turning over from team gb um.
You know we now have quite a few olympians that have come into the professional ranks, which is brilliant because it just means the sport feels like it has the opportunity to do that um.
So now i base most of my sparring here in london in my camp.
Unless i go abroad for it and for my first world title shot, i went uh had a good chunk of my camp in new york, so i based myself out of gleason’s.
I worked with alicia napoleon out there, um kaylee reese, so yeah.
It was um a good sparring session there over here in the uk.
I have a whole mixture of people that work with chantal cameron, sandy ryan, um, yeah and some other top amateur girls as well.
They’Re, just brilliant uh, it’s brilliant to work with them, especially if you go team db you get but you’ll get somebody for like three rounds, then they’ll jump out and they’ll give them someone fresh for three rounds.
You use that as and as you see as you as you get better with the more experience and you know um you’re getting more of a name for yourself.
It’S getting a little bit easier to find those sparring monitors, because people actually want to spar with you, because they know you have the experience right so anytime that you’re in that yeah exactly we’re in canada, which is right near the michigan border.
So if you, you could always come here, you have a gym right here you can come spark.
I can see it nice.
Obviously, i i’d love to come to canada.
At some point, um i’ve got a good friend there, carolyn redmond she’s a welterweight uh.
So, yes, yes, yes, very good boxer.
I know her coach bailey, very good coach, too she’s a great girl – and she spent some time here in london with me and my coach and uh we’re really good friends.
And when i fought in detroit, she was actually there and she came in the corner and she was actually weirdly a total lifesaver at one point, because my hair, the braids, came out at one point and for the fight and they were like gone mental.
I just couldn’t see stuff and um.
My coach was like because he’s had hair dramas before um carolyn was there and she was like i’ve got hair ties.
Did my hair fixed it all up? You know um she’s, great and of course, there’s a canadian boxer um marie eve decare uh she’s got one of the ibf belt at junior middleweight.
So, of course, like you know, i want to fight her at some point whenever we get a chance uh, because i’d love to unify the division, that’s my goal, so um yeah, i hopefully will be in canada at some point.
Yes, hopefully that’d be excellent um.
What do you believe is the greatest challenge that you’ve faced in your career so far in boxing, i think when i fought closer shields, that was probably my biggest challenge um for a fighting side of things.
The other side of the of the coin is kind of like being a female fighter in a male dominated environment um, definitely, but that is changing, which is good like i really see that sign to not be such an issue as it was before.
It’S things still to work on um, but when i thought clarissa it was the first sort of time that i’ve been on like matron uh usa.
It was like we did live press conferences.
I was flown to new york for like 48 hours for a press conference.
Um, you know it was the first time i’d really been thrown right into the public eye and my first time having to answer loads of media questions, be in front of the camera.
All the time um and prep for the biggest fight in my life really um.
Again, fantastic boxer who, at the time we hated each other it was.
It was dealing with that, like all eyes on one thing, you know um, but now we’re really good friends.
So it’s it’s all good, but um at the time yeah.
We were right at it.
That’S competition, that’s his competition right absolutely, and this shows the respect that you guys have have uh.
You know for each other.
Definitely what do you? What do you think um needs to happen in the next few years to really make women’s boxing take off what what what are some of your suggestions? So i think, like we were very ironically, the pandemic was probably one of the most positive things that could have happened for women’s boxing uh out of all the women’s sports, we’re the ones that the one that seemed to have thrived coming out of the pandemic.
A lot of other ones are really struggling at the moment, and that’s because eddie decided to put female fights on in his fight camp uh in his garden and and the best part was we had a captive audience for a change.
They were stuck in their houses.
They couldn’t go anywhere and the only live sport was us, so there was no excuses.
Oh it’s! A chicks fight, i’m going to the bar.
Oh, it’s the girls they’re not interested and we’re going to watch something else like there was nothing else for them to watch and eddie was really clever.
He put on only top level female fights, title fights uh mine in savannah’s fight.
We we got a dramatic fight of the year from the wbc, so you know fantastic award and all of the girls fight.
None of them disappointed not a single one.
They were all action, action action from the first bell and i think, giving the public that introduction to us uh with no excuses for the fact they couldn’t watch.
It was the best thing that could ever happen, because now that like people are talking about women boxers, it’s like a household names yeah and it’s become people know who we are now and that’s just great, because you know you’ve got now young girls going.
I want to be like katie taylor.
I want to be like hannah rankin or you know that sort of thing and yeah.
I think that’s been a real step forward and it’s probably exciting to be at the very front of the wave, whilst everything’s changing and as a fighter.
I feel really privileged to be there um for the future yeah because 10 years ago, 10 years ago, the you know the girls coming up didn’t really have there was there was a lot of females on the scene, but there wasn’t as much exposure.
So if that continues, that would be great um.
The other thing i think is the main issue is obviously the differentiation in pay, and this is for me comes down to the fact that we don’t it’s very easy for someone to argue not to pay us.
The same when we don’t do the same number of rounds or the same length of rounds, okay, so at the moment for a world title fight, it’s still ten twos for us.
We still fight two minute rounds.
I mean.
I know the wba have done three minute rounds before um.
I would.
I would love three minute rounds.
It would really suit me um, but i do think we need some sort of differentiation between what you fight for a world title and say what you fight for commonwealth, because you’ve got some girls stepping up to world title level because they can do 10 rounds.
But they’re not really at world title level, so it means that they take and also having only two minutes.
I feel means that female fighters take a lot more punishment over a longer time, whereas if it was because they might just get through the two minutes have a minute to recover, get beaten up again for two minutes.
Whereas if we had the three minutes that might only last for four rounds, then they get stopped uh.
I know there’s quite a couple of times in fights for me where i just needed 10 seconds 10 more seconds to finish it.
That would be great um, but i know there’s some arguments about whether or not we can do three minute rounds.
The wbc has some studies out that says that we’re we sweat more, and so we were more likely to brain injuries.
Basically, that’s all in one sense.
That’S all i’ve read i’ve heard that i heard that i read that whole article out and and there’s doctors that have proven that it’s all nonsense, they’re, just trying to make excuses honestly, i i believe the women should have three minute rounds, because you know what the Way that the women are the women are showing up to men.
Obviously you you, ladies, you, ladies, are really putting on a real show.
You guys, are you don’t back down? There’S no [ __ ] footing around there’s no remarks from people.
It’S you all want to fight you and it’s okay, let’s fight, and then you get in the ring and do it.
You know what it’s entertaining and yeah.
Sometimes i believe that you guys need that extra minute.
Just to finish the person sometimes and just in general, just doing the full three minutes, because when i i was saying before when i train females, i train in three minutes.
I don’t train them just for two minutes like it’s.
You know you’re you’re working just as hard as the minute and two so yeah absolutely, and i think, if you’re going to try and change the system if they want to do something in between that, maybe at least make um world title fights 12 twos.
So that means that you know there’s some sort of differentiator of differentiation, because at the moment you have the elite level.
You have people at the very bottom and the people in the middle is much much thinner.
There’S a lot less people in there and the depth in women’s boxing is never going to grow.
If we don’t have the ability to pick out a little bit more um and have more time to showcase things.
So you know 12 twos, 10.
Freeze, you know something like that would be great and i know a lot of female fighters much per threes um, but you were one of them.
I know clarissa shields, one of them yeah katie, taylor’s van, i’m pretty sure all you elite level.
Women right now have all agreed to three minutes and honestly, i think they should give it to you, man yeah.
I know i think like as myself as a world champion.
I try to push for these things.
I think once you’re in that position as a world champ, it’s your chance to really ask for these things and push for them because you’re in a position where you’ve got the title, you’ve got the belt so try and make a difference, try and change it.
So that’s something that i’m working on at the moment, i’m hoping at some point in my career.
It will change and i will get that chance because you’re a champion people, your voice, will be heard a little bit more because you have not one but two belts.
Yeah uh, what a question off topic here! Bassoonist you are, you are a voice.
Yes, yes thanks for reminding me mike.
We need to know about this.
I don’t even know what a bassoonist was and then i found out you’re, basically a professional at this.
So please, i need to know the beginning of the bassoonist uh uh uh, yes, okay, so um i come from my family, we’re quite musical me and my sisters.
We all play musical instruments growing up.
I started on the flute.
In fact, i started on piano, but i gave up piano because i thought it was cooler to kick people in taekwondo.
So i was like i’m gon na do that instead, but then i came back to play the flute um.
I got up to my grade.
Eight um and then an old lady, donated a bassoon to my school now bassoon is like a big woodwind instrument.
It’S usually a beautiful brown color, lots of silver keys and a silver bit that comes out here.
It’S a woodwind instrument, so you blow down it and play the bass part, that’s the bass line.
It’S also one of the weirdest looking instruments.
You’Ve ever seen, and i i was like i want to play that because it’s different from everybody else’s instrument so yeah.
I started that late as well.
That was when i was about 15.
I picked that up and i was like this is the instrument for me.
I just knew it and from then on i worked um.
I got into the junior academy in the world’s conservator of scotland and then i went on to study my undergraduate degree at the royal conservatoire and my master’s at the world academy of music, so i’ve played all around the world with orchestras, um playing professional orchestras.
I have a win quintet.
We still play together at the moment our main sort of work.
Now is we work with a charity that goes into the care homes for people who are living with alzheimer’s and dementia, and we do interactive concerts for them uh.
So it’s a really rewarding part of my job and uh, also playing like playing concerts for kids as well, especially interactive ones, because kids will ask you the most ridiculous things.
They will tell you if they don’t like the piece they’ll just say i don’t like this.
Give me their honest opinion: they’re not like they’ll.
Just give you their honest opinion.
I love it.
It’S brilliant, so um um explain the difference in uh preparing for a a big bassoonist concert and uh preparing for a world championship boxing match one of the similarities and differences there i’ll tell you a funny story right.
So when i started so when i was back in doing my masters um, i’m my undergraduate, i used to actually suffer quite badly from performance anxiety, which is kind of tricky when you’re wanting to perform in front of people um.
So it was a real stress for me.
I couldn’t i used to like my breathing used to go bad.
My heart rate went a million miles an hour.
I couldn’t hear real nerves, you know and um, but it was only for solo performing not for an orchestra or anything like that.
So you know i went to hypnotherapy.
I tried a few different things and but when i moved down to london uh my when i had my final recital at college, i ran it like a boxing match.
My coach came in with me um he stood outside the room before i walked on stage.
We did our breathing together.
I had water, he was like right, you’re cool.
Let’S go first round i went out.
I did my first piece and i like i came back again breathing and you know what i performed the best i’ve ever performed and it was that sort of structure and the way that you know you have.
You know your coaches in the corner.
You get back there, you get some advice, you control your breathing clear your mind and get ready to go again and refocus, and it actually was one of my best performances um.
So there are lots of similarities for me because it is all about performing whether i’m on stage or with my bassoon in front of a nice well-behaved audience who are going to.
I see when i should we’re in front of like a boxing audience and i’m facing my opponent we’re going to go at it as soon as the bell goes, but i’m going to perform under the lights, and i realize that actually, i’m an entertainer and i love To entertain people you know, so i always hope that people are entertained to watch me box as much as they’re entertained to watch me perform in concerts and things like that.
So for me they’re very similar honestly, i i love watching you box.
I guess i got it.
I got to watch you play the horn, then right, if you, if you’re such an entertainer, i’m gon na, have to check it out.
Yeah, i’m not sure how much like, if you i know this would be maybe too much.
But if you could have like uh one of those things that like something like uh um, if you sit on something and and it brings you to the ring, the bassoonist actually, no, because you need your hands, can you play with this? Many people tried to think of a way of how i’m going to achieve this, but i’m like guys the gloves make it impossible.
I need to be able to play fingerling and keys and stuff.
If i’m like this, i just can’t.
Oh my god.
That’S amazing! That’S that’s.
That’S amazing man come on play in the bassoon to the ring to your world championship match with you.
I mean tyson.
Fury came out as a king.
Oh my gosh um dream fight dream fight today.
If you could fight anybody right now, who would it be? Oh, okay, so there are some really cool female fighters that are all like.
I love um, but i would love it if holly holm and if i was anywhere near her weight and and stuff, i would love to afford holly holm because she was cool.
She still is cool she’s, an amazing badass female.
I really really like her um riker i’d like to afford riker that would have been cool um.
I would love to say i’d.
You know i share a ring with like a wolf she’s.
Probably the scariest women and women like in women’s blocks ever he’s a serious badass, lady um, so to even have said that i shall share the ring with her would be amazing, like she she’s still scary now so yeah there’s some great people out there uh when Uh, when you’re ready to hang it up, then retire um.
What are the plans, and what do you want to be remembered about like remember, for in your career, so um like, i always said people i never put a date on when i want to retire, because i think people who do that are subconsciously working towards that Date, whether or not they say they are or they’re not, and it means you’re never really going to push yourself to the max if you’re thinking, okay, i’m winding it down, i’m not about that.
So for me, there’s no date, but when i do retire, which will inevitably have to happen at some point, it can’t happen.
We can’t go on forever.
Um i’ve started doing some work with uh fight zone at the moment for commentary um, which i really really really enjoy.
Actually um.
I’Ve had the the sort of i was very lucky to be asked by uh box nation to do the commentary for clarissa and christopher and christina hamer’s fight, which i really enjoyed actually um.
And so it’s an area that i never thought i’d work in, but something that basically allows for me to be a total boxing.
Geek and research fighters watch their fight style, then talk about it on the night and just get really excited and try not to swear when i get really excited.
So that’s definitely something i want to do at the moment.
I’M doing a quite a bit of ambassadorial work for a charity called box wise i’m due to go out to south africa to set up their south africa branch after my next fight.
So that happened this year.
Um, i’m a big believer in getting young people empowered through the sport of boxing, get helping them to learn, discipline and and just also give them some routine and structure and giving them pathways into future employment and options like that.
So that’s a an area that i hope to be involved in when i retire, because for me i’m quite passionate about it so fingers crossed.
I will be doing a fair bit of that um and how i’d like to be remembered.
Someone who gave everything a go.
I took every challenge full-on and didn’t take no for an answer.
Do you want to be loved, or do you want to be feared in your career? Well, i’d like to be loved, actually uh.
I think that would be nice about being feared, because i do when i get in the ring, you know um.
It is what it is, and i think sometimes fighters try to be a person that they’re not and uh.
Often eventually, when you get to the higher levels, you get found out and boxing’s a huge mental game.
So if, in the lead up to a fight, you’re starting to your story, starts to unravel and you’re, not the person that you’ve made out, you are for your first few fights you’re, not this like badass gangster guy like and suddenly you’re standing in front of a Gangster [ Laughter, ] you’re gon na get found out so you’re gon na get.
You checked right there yeah i’d like to be loved by people um and then i’ll do all my uh fighting in the ring.
That’S awesome, do you uh? Do you do any like um training with kids? Now in your in your spare time, do you have time for that yeah? Definitely um so, like i said, obviously with the music side of things i like to give concerts, and they always keep me on my toes there, because, no matter how much stuff you prepare for a kid’s concert, it’s never enough.
It’S never enough.
Man, you’re gon na get more stuff going um with the box wise thing, i’m yeah getting a chance to go and watch these guys at various ages and levels, progress through the program um and i i do like to teach kids.
When i get a chance.
You know like when i get a chance to cover a kid’s class or something like that.
You know because for me i’m a massive kid, so i just get to hang out with lovely kids and do fun things.
You know so yeah, it’s good uh.
I want to ask you: how did you get the alias hannah, the banger? I have no idea where this has come from.
I heard i heard about this.
It was on a wba article and i was like i don’t know when this happened.
When did this nickname appear, so i’ve not heard it before um, but i was called the classical warrior.
That was a nickname that was given to me by a friend right when i started at the very beginning and it kind of stuck for a while, but i think that this one i’ll take it, why not it works it works.
Definitely i’ve also been called the mule right.
The mule is another one yeah.
I don’t want to keep you too much longer.
I know it’s late over there.
I know you have training to do you got camp starting soon.
So i want to thank you personally for coming out and joining us here on the show today and uh, giving the fans what they want and it’s a look into the life of you and what you’re doing for women’s boxing.
And i honestly i commend you on your efforts to push it into the next level where it needs to be.
Thank you and yes, i would love to have you back on the show, maybe before your next fight or after your next fight, so we can uh.
Definitely talk about how you’re still world champion knockout of the week knockout yeah knocked out of the week.
You got ta go back to that knock out of the week award, absolutely well as soon as i as soon as i announce things and stuff uh.
Let me know guys i’m happy to go and talk about things um, but yeah.
No, i’m really really happy to have joined you today.
It’S been great chatting to you, nice easy conversation.
For me.
You know it was very stressful.
It was really cool, great questions that now we know what a bassoonist is.
Yes, yes, there you go cedric there you go.
That was just for you, brother um.
Thank you, yes, so to all the fans watching around the world.
Thanks for tuning in to this wonderful episode of knuckle up, live with hannah rankin current world champion about to uh, defend them and we’ll we’ll, let you know exactly when that’s going to happen so guys we’ll see you tomorrow tune in next time same time same channel New prospect, thank you again hannah.
It’S been a pleasure.
Thank you.
All right have a good day.
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