Lady in red wins gold at Ulster Novice contest

Despite feeling nervous, Sloan won unanimous favour with the judges in a three round bout: “When I first got there is was really nervous. There was a lot of pressure on me, that said I went with the intention that I would win, obviously you have to in these kind of situations. The first round I did not think I won it, but I kept pressure on and with the support of my coach it turned out I did win.

Paying tribute to her coaches and the members of Eglinton ABC for their support, she said: “For my final prep I just did a lot of pad work and just working on my speed and getting myself mentally prepared for the fight. I did a bit of footwork to make sure I was getting in and out. You can prepare yourself, but really the fight is always going to be ten times harder than your training. It is very different.”

“The fight itself was very difficult,” she said of her three rounds in the ring.

“It was challenging. I was expecting somebody who was just going to box me back but my competitor was more into trying to lean on me and wear me down. She was trying to get me more into a fight with her; completely different tactics. You never learn these things until you are actually boxing in the ring. I was not prepared for that, but I used what I learned in the last month or so and worked that to my advantage and was able to cope with it,” she said.

Matches used to be points-based, but professional rules now apply and there are five judges.

Back in Eglinton ABC on Monday night for the first time since her win, Stacey is not letting grass grow under her feet. She is straight back into training, looking at fixtures for her next fight.

Asked what her immediate plans were she said: “I am looking for my next fights. I have to go into Intermediate fights, I cannot fight Novice matches any more, so hopefully in the next few weeks I will be fighting in the intermediate Championships.”

“A lot of people have congratulated me, and it is great to have such fantastic support”, she said.

Among those ringside were her father, Chris Sloan, and her boxing buddy, Lizzy Cunningham (pictured above).

For further coverage on Stacey Sloan log onto the Sentinel website: www.londonderrysentinel.co.uk