Diona swaps catwalks for canvas as she takes part in boxing match

Diona Doherty, who now lives in Belfast, took part in a ‘white collar’ boxing bill to raise money for a cancer charity.

She narrowly lost the bout at the Europa Hotel and admits that she felt she had caught the “boxing bug”.

The the reality began to sink in as she and her opponent swapped blows, and she decided against further fights through fear of getting her face “rearranged”.

First round was tight and hard to call, Diona won the second round, but opponent ‘The Rock’ did enough in the third round to seal victory.

“I’m still stiff a few days later but the experience was unlike any other and nothing compares to the adrenaline rush, “Diona told the Sentinel.

“I’m used to getting on stage in front of lots of people but nothing would have prepared me for that experience of 500 people in the Europa hotel grand ballroom surrounding the ring waiting for the fight to start.

“I was lucky enough to have some training from Irish boxing legend Neil Sinclair for the six weeks running up to the fight as did my boyfriend comedian, Sean Hegarty who also competed on the night and won his fight.

“It was worth every minute as we raised a few hundred pound for Marie Curie with donations still coming in.

“At first I thought I had caught the boxing bug but I may leave it to the professionals from here. The worry of getting my face rearranged each time would be just too much,” she laughed.