Hornchurch mum told boxing ‘not for her’ at 13 is going pro

A Hornchurch mum who was told boxing was not for her as a teenager will be making her professional debut at a historic venue.

Sarah Worsfold, 32, who grew up in Hornchurch, will take to the ring on June 3 at York Hall in Bethnal Green, which has hosted Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and David Haye, who had his first bout there.

As a young girl Sarah had a competitive nature and after she got into a fight at school her father urged her to take up boxing.

But attitudes at the time meant it was difficult for her to enter the sport.

“It wouldn’t be the right place for her,” is what a 13-year-old Sarah overheard when her father took her to Elm Park and Hornchurch Boxing Club.

The boxing club, which now has all-female classes, did not train any women  at the time so Sarah had no local options.

Eight years went by and it was not until she was 21 that she got into kickboxing, but even then she encountered problems.

“Sometimes you’d spar guys who wouldn’t want to put pressure on you so you didn’t learn, or there’s ones where you catch one with a shot and they really put it on you,” she said.

Sarah said she was inspired to get back into boxing after she had her first child age 19 and wanted to stay fit.

She was approached by Falcon Kickboxing Club in Romford and just five months later she had her first bout there.

“I knew I had something – as soon as I started I just wanted to be there all the time, I was training there constantly,” she said.

She won several bouts at the club, namely a sell-out title win at Brentwood Leisure Centre in 2018.

Sarah continued to kickbox until 18 months ago, when she switched to boxing and now trains in Poplar under a professional boxing coach.

On her debut next month, Sarah said she was proud to have her fight at a venue as prestigious as York Hall.

“For my first every fight to be at York Hall is massive to me and I’m really looking forward to it,” she said.

“It will mean everything to me, I’ve put in so much and it’s my life – I don’t do anything but train, look after my kids and train.”