AIR DATE:
EPISODE: Episode 1
This week on Talkin Fight with Holly Donovan, we have an in-depth interview with professional boxer Raven Chapman. We’ll hear all about Raven’s career in boxing, from her amateur roots to her current status as one of the top contenders on the Queensbury roster. We’ll also discuss Raven’s recent fights, her thoughts on the current state of the sport, and her plans for the future. Plus, Raven gives us her advice for aspiring boxers and shares some of her best moments in the ring. Don’t miss this must-listen interview with Raven Chapman on Talkin Fight!
Transcribed
[, Music, ] foreign with me, holly Donovan, and today we have a very special guest.
We have got the queen of Queensbury, so yeah, everyone that doesn’t know the only woman signed by queensby.
Currently it is Raven Chapman, so welcome.
How are you yeah? I’M very good.
Thanks Holly, how are you I like that? Intro? Ah thanks the queen of Queensbury, you must have been called that loads of times yeah a lot of times.
I know there’s um.
There is a ring announcer, who is called the queen of Queensbury as well, and she’s.
Really cool so she’s so cool.
She could do like my ring announcement.
One day, that’s perfect.
You’Ve got to share the title.
There’S two Queens of Queens yeah, exactly yeah! Oh you flipped again, it’s all good! It’S all good! How was your session at the gym so you’ve just done boxing? Yes, I did boxing this morning.
Um and I’m actually gon na be doing snc a few.
My times change so after this I’ll be having my strength and conditioning oh wow, okay, cool.
Hence why I was early today, that’s very impressive, so how many times are you working out in a day um normally twice twice a day: um the length of sessions vary just depending on what I’m doing um but yeah we sort of go for twice a day.
Um five days a week and then I have a consecutive two days rest, Let the Body Repair um, but in those two sessions I’m I’m being pushed pretty hard yeah, so right, yeah, yeah, normally like first first couple week back in Camp and literally two days in, I was, I was feeling it already, but I nearly made it to the end of the week now.
Look at that we’re nearly on Friday yeah.
That’S it! That’S it I’m feeling better as well already, so it was coming back, quick muscle memory, it’s like oh yeah.
Exactly it’s not Christmas, yeah! Oh yeah! That’S what I do.
I don’t sit and eat food, but I want to start off by saying congratulations on your last fight, and so that was not very long ago and my goodness, what a fight! So I rewatched it again.
This morning – and I was glad for me as you do she – I mean she was no journeyman.
This was a no 19 wins on her um.
You know on her name.
She she’s been she’s, got so much experience, but you are absolutely dominated like just the entire way through, and I think you could have just ended it in the second round yeah.
I kind of think the rest yeah.
It’S so same as you I felt like there was a point in that second round, where I think she didn’t throw anything for about 30 40 seconds um and she was just in a ball and, to be honest, it’s actually harder just trying to get someone out There, with a clean shot when someone’s not growing back at you because they’re not opening themselves up um, and I think I think I could have really got her out there if I’d stepped on the gas more throughout the fight um.
But I kind of you know.
I had a really tired, cam, like a back-to-back Camp after my win in Manchester, which again was a real tough rule in Canada, it was a tough fight and – and that’s went straight back into the gym and um I felt like I was getting ill towards the End of that one and my you know anybody knows it can’t, and it’s like right.
Okay, we’ll keep fighting it, and then I thought right when I have the rest of my butt.
I can let my body relax, went straight into it and and everything else.
So I definitely felt tired in the fight with the heat and stuff, but I actually felt like I’m, not gon na, put pressure on myself to get a stoppage right now, when I know I’m a bit tired and what I’m gon na do is I’m just gon Na showcase, the things that we’ve been working on in the gym – and I feel like that’s actually what I’ve got to do so yeah yeah anywhere else in the world – they probably would have stopped the fight in the second round uh.
In hindsight, it allowed me to work: do things that we’ve been working on within a fight which was great to do as well so yeah? It would be really great to have another knockout on my record.
We know that it probably would have been had it not been where it was and then went into keep the fights going on um.
But actually I got to practice a lot of things and got to see what was working for me.
So it turned out really good and yeah yeah.
I felt good in the fight.
Don’T get me wrong, there’s like no excuses there, but you know just just allow knowing that I felt tired in my body and I’m not going to try and wear myself out of the first two rounds to knock someone out who does not want to be knocked Out she did not want to be yourself: yeah yeah.
She lives last year, tired, my God [ __, ] yeah.
What’S gon na happen, yes, yeah, no yeah yeah! So it’s exciting, I say um we’re back in the gym and because of that as well, we got to know a few more things that we want to work on in the gym and in the next few camps and yeah, we got to see the stuff that Worked, I say: I’m just really glad.
We’Ve got the Showcase a little bit about that, still not just that.
I’M an aggressive come forward fighter.
No, the skills, your speed, your intensity, like everything’s point just it was.
It was really entertaining to watch.
It was like it was almost like a master class.
I was like yeah when I think about like I’ve listened to a lot.
I listen to podcasts all the time and your name, your name, it’s just it’s flying about everywhere, yeah! Well, I think yeah.
I think the main reason why everyone was saying your name is because it’s I still can’t believe that Queensbury have signed a female um.
I mean like the last person, was Nicola Adams and obviously fantastic, but this must mean – and I I mean we can see it in your fights – you’re really special like for sure I I know Steffi obviously did a really hard sell to get them to sign me In the first place um, but I think especially after my debut with Queensbury yeah, but they were, they were happy with that yeah I know yeah, I know Frank and the the Warrens.
You know, love me and love the team and love what we’re about and – and I think that’s what’s important as well.
We have such a good rapport with them and we can really gel and we get on not not just them, but everyone at Queensbury when when we’re there when fight week and we’re around all we’re around everyone, it’s it’s just really good.
Like yeah, I couldn’t ask for like a better promoter, really, you know there’s no, I feel wanted by them.
If that makes sense – and I still I feel a good relationship with everyone down there from the people behind the scenes to the drivers to to the Warrens as well – and that’s that’s important to me and my team too glad you met them before you got signed Or how? How did so? How do you know where were the contacts? What how did they say, um so Steffi, one of Stephanie’s Fighters, Jason Cunningham, he is signed with Queensbury um and you know really loved how they were with him, how they treated him and stuff, and they were kind of asking about women’s boxing to Steffi, and I Think it was, you know it was that and – and I’d mentioned it before uh, what a little while before about going to Frank Warren and being on BT Sport like they don’t have any females on there.
It’S really good platform to get on to, but it was quite hard to break through that barrier with it so a little bit of pushing by Steffy and having someone already in the stable with Jason it just you know like say he did the Hard Sell on Me let them know, I’d be entertaining and I’d suggestion Knockouts yeah.
So so I know I’ve seen a few bits of Frank saying you know he’s not a hypocrite and he has said he hasn’t like women boxing, but he does like me and if anything, that’s that’s the most important thing whether he still doesn’t like women’s boxing, but He likes to see me box yeah.
Do you want more women to join that stable, or are you happy being the one, and only or do you feel the pressure yeah? Well, I’m not gon na lie.
It’S obviously a great opportunity for me being the only female there, but you know the one of the reasons I wanted to get on.
There was to be that kind of breakthrough as well and show the women can be entertaining in their fights and having the right people for the team work, and hopefully they’ll open balls for other women um and give more opportunities.
And that’s what it’s about.
Especially at the moment with building building women, involting yeah and obviously it’s going from strength to strength, that’s just another another key to it.
Yeah absolutely.
I agree I asked as well so I love to rewind and find out like how how women even get into boxing in the first place so yeah.
So I know you can talk in.
I don’t want to say late.
You were like 16 is that right, yeah and so and how did it happen? I know maybe your dad was a big influence or are you tell me what happened, how did you yeah a box yeah, so my dad was a big influence and as much as I didn’t properly start doing it when I was 16, I grew up around boxing, But martial arts really my Dad loved martial arts and he was in my Thai Fighter, kickboxer loved boxing as well.
So I kind of grew up around it and I was very sporty kid, but I like to do everything and yeah.
It was just my my main sort of passion was kind of football.
At one point when I was a young teen and that’s what I really wanted to do and loved doing it, and I was pretty good at it.
Yeah um but yeah a kind of just just from always being around it, but I was a bit of a shy here as well so and sort of those mid-teens.
I got a bit shy and I didn’t really do any training.
I just trained with my dads and stuff, so I never felt like I had to learn how to throw a punch, so I could always just do it because I’d always been around it um and then I think at 16.
I was just going to an adult class Boxing class with my dad and the guy that ran.
It was just one of the local amateur coaches around the local club and saw something in me and just told me.
I should get down and start training down there with with their squad, but it took a little bit of convincing, so I just always used to train with my dad.
If I did boxing, I didn’t like, I think the reason I didn’t take up soon was because it was a lot of shine.
I did I didn’t like going to these Junior classes where there’s other people my age.
There felt really weird I didn’t like it.
I think I liked that more intense training that I used to get by joining my dad in his his sessions and stuff so yeah, that’s kind of how it got into that, and I guess as well.
You had some more experienced people around you right from the very beginning, yeah yeah.
So I guess I’m watching people that are pretty good at good at the sport and, like I say I don’t just love dogs and I love all martial arts as well and yeah.
I could I would do as many of them as I can.
You know some of the ones.
I really want to do.
There’S a lot more risks of injury at the moment, but not yet do you reckon you might cross into MMA one day I think that’d be yeah, there’s.
Why not like? Probably if there was opportunities there, I would um.
I randomly did like MMA tryouts in Thailand.
Once that’s cool um, just because I happen to be out there at the same time as these tryouts, and I just thought well, if I’m gon na do it, I might as well go for MMA, never done MMA before obviously done that kickboxing, but other than that.
I’Ve done grabs of Jiu Jitsu that never been able to consistently work at it.
So that was a good experience.
Was that place to get it oh, no way, yeah the girl they gave it to she’s now.
Well, she was in the UFC, so it was a.
It was a real good experience.
I loved it and you know trying to train with, like Top Class female MMA fighters from around the world.
It was a great experience as well so yeah like I said what I love is Jiu Jitsu, but I’ve never been able to really consistently try, train and get good at it.
You have to be consistent with it so, but that is where you get those injuries in the hands and your feet and little things like that.
So I’ve got to be really careful, but I’d love to do that.
And if I, if I got that consistency with it, then yeah, I definitely would take up some sort of MMA in the future.
Maybe um, there’s loads of people crossing over now as well.
Aren’T you yeah yeah, exactly British Hills? Does it you can do it? No problem, so you spend a bit of time having an amateur career.
I know you’ve got two national titles.
Um yeah, you went got into team GB as well: grad you’re a graduate yeah, and how did you find your time there? You know I it was such a great experience to be a part of it and and be there, and you know in the future to be able to look back and properly say that was part of like the national team is yeah.
It’S just amazing um and I learned a lot um.
I just felt like I wasn’t me there um and I think some boxers find that it worked for some people who doesn’t brothers and I stayed there for us.
I really wanted to make it work, but it just didn’t get the best out in me and that’s why I ended up deciding to leave because I sort of come to them Crossroads.
If I do, I keep trying yeah at this opportunity because you know it’s the Pinnacle, isn’t it it’s? What you want to do you want to get to the Olympics, have a commonwealth games and that’s the place to do that, but it was a detrimental myself in the process, so it was kind of kind of that choice, yeah to do it and and at the Time when I was there like, I made some amazing friends.
I met some amazing people.
I had some amazing experiences and I loved every minute of it.
So I’d never take it back.
Oh yeah.
Sometimes I think maybe I should have should have left sooner or not, but you know at the time when Clovis come about.
It was just the right time for me and I had a really good relationship going with Steffy and training with him and alongside Terry um.
So I kind of had that I suppose it’s not that thing everything happens for a reason.
Isn’T it if I left sooner, I wouldn’t have created those opportunities from from leaving it would have been a lot different.
But when I left I kind of had a plan and a goal, I knew what I wanted to do and wanted to achieve yeah, and it’s just the case of right.
I’M gon na try this and if it works for me, then it’s meant to be and yeah like it’s one of the things people come along in your life when, when it matters the most, when you need it, you think yeah with your dad with you, because I know that your dad’s still, like you, know, he’s in your corner.
He’S there yeah.
Do you think it was because he wasn’t with you when you’re at Team GP or was he yeah? I think I know he’ll say it a lot like you know he.
I think he blames himself sometimes it’s her, which he didn’t because I was like I was the Grown Woman Like I made my choices that yeah my dad’s, obviously coached me and trained me, and you know we used to train two three times a day every day Before I got onto GB and I’m pretty sure that was a massive part of what built me up and got me onto onto the squad and where I was in the amateurs and then without that I think yeah without that structure, no, he was working as well And couldn’t really give me that time anymore either, so it was one of them, but I come.
I don’t know if, if I was still trained with Dad that I’ve wanted to be a GB anyway, I may have had to decide to left sooner.
So I think it was like when Dad watches this, because I know if you’re watching ideas, don’t blame yourself and don’t worry.
I don’t worry about me yeah what happened because look at where we are now it’s.
You know this story as well that you know you started with him.
You know in those adult classes and now he’s there and you’re in your professional career like yeah, it’s lovely yeah.
You know you come together again, yeah and and as much as my dad doesn’t like hold the pads for me as much now like every time I can we we will um, but to still have him there as part of the journey is very, very important.
You just need to learn not to annoy me so much quite weak.
I can say I argue all the time with like how do you? How do I separate that? Oh, oh, no yeah, you don’t need to know.
I can be here.
They call me a dragon.
Sometimes, when you’re, when you didn’t the last they’re dying and making weight just hungry, that’s the one that gets in the neck for sure, yeah and they’re saying that out in Dubai, my boyfriend came out and he got it in the next episode of my dad.
So my dad was very happy to have him there.
I feel, like you, come this time: yeah yeah yeah yeah.
He said he said afterwards right your money, trees right now.
Well, let’s I was going to ask you about your sparring because I’ve I’ve seen you on Instagram sparring with Terry Harper.
I’Ve seen like yeah that must be cool Ellie scottney, you train with it sometimes as well.
Yeah yeah and I even saw a video of you and Tyson Fury like yeah well, yeah we’re very regular foreign.
Did.
He actually hit you, obviously yeah um, not really he just kind of did.
You know your typical cartoon, where the hand goes on the head and you’re just swinging, and you know oh yeah yeah.
It was very much like that yeah, oh, my God was that when you were signed with cream free or was that like? No, that was just.
I was um on a holiday in Spain near my bay area and we went down there to train and um Tyson Fury came in.
I was sparring a lad at the time when he came in and pasted in them a bit and she was just watching the smile like oh [, __ ].
Now she can fight, can’t see and then afterwards you just he was just giving all the mouth as you can imagine, Fury style, and he still said to me: oh me, and you we’re gon na Spa.
We’Ve been inspired.
You know like oh yeah yeah, like I’m thinking, nothing of it he’s just saying pads.
He was trying to Ben Davis at that time after he’d finished his pads and Benny come over like right get in the ring.
I remember turning around going.
Oh my thumb Shields and stuff.
It was just like what yeah I would: okay um so yeah it was mad real mad experience and it’s just crazy that that happened way before us even and talked the Queensbury before I was thinking of turning now yeah.
Do you think he said anything like you never know? I remember at the time saying I’ll put in a good word.
Whatever he did or not I mean if we did obviously work yeah, I was gon na say you never know they might be like your secret secret yeah.
That’S it yeah yeah, no, it’s cool and obviously even from that, like he, he knows who I am and remembers me from that.
So whenever I see him around and stuff he’s always proper chatty, and just it’s just funny, yeah she’s, probably secretly happy that he came out of retirement, probably go back, go back! Yeah, please! Oh! So! What’S next, for you then raven like 2023, I’m looking and thinking that it’s going to be massive for you um.
I mean there’s no way it can’t be like I don’t you have everything I I honestly when I watch you I’m just.
I really am like.
Oh, my God, she’s good, so yeah! No! No! It’S true because I’m always looking for female fights and the first thing was when I because I would never turn to Queensbury, because I would never really look at a card because I wouldn’t find a female fight on it.
And now now you’ve changed that.
So that was interesting, tick, she’s, great yeah, yeah and then watching you perform and prove it like.
Every time you’ve had a fight has just been like as a fan, I’m I’m really excited so what’s next, how are you gon na smash everything up? How are you gon na? What would you like to happen this year? So I think now definitely this year, old fights are going to be pretty big fights, they’re going to be tough fights, which is awesome.
That’S what you want! That’S what you train so hard for in the gym um, so hopefully I’ll be out soon, I’m actually I’m on holiday.
At the end of this month, my manager, just sort of said you know, you’ve got to still you’ll still live a life and enjoy yourself and um.
So don’t wait the end of January and then back straight into camp, and hopefully I should be out of March time um.
It will definitely be some sort of Defense whether we could add another strap to it.
That would be great um and yeah as long as that momentum keeps going, uh just see it in a big fight with Serrano at the end of the year.
Hopefully, she she’ll, unify with Cruz um, have a fight with Katie and then no Defender, featherweight titles.
Against me, that’s literally where that would be yeah.
That would be the dream.
You know that that’s a dream here for me.
Obviously we just got ta make it happen, yeah.
That would be such a good fight.
Your Styles and both like you’ve got such both of your such intense yeah yeah.
It would be explosive for sure, like you, wouldn’t want to keep take your eyes off it.
You might miss them yeah, that’s kind of what what I’m gon na do this year is just prepare for those really hard.
That’S you know, that’s what it’s about! That’S! What’S what you want, and I know this year is going to be a big year.
I can feel it yeah me too yeah yeah sure I’m gon na be watching Joe.
I’M I’m dead, excited about you, so we’re gon na be watching.
I do a lot of preview shows.
I’M gon na be like every time.
You’Re fighting I’m like look everybody.
Oh yeah definitely you’ve got to get on there.
Thank you so much for joining us today.
I really appreciate it.
No thank you.
Thank you for asking me, I’m glad I’m glad I finally got on
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