Jade Jones: From Taekwondo Gold to Boxing Debut
Jade Jones won a gold medal in taekwondo at her Olympic debut in London 2012.
As she bids farewell to a sport that has been part of her life since youth, Jade Jones finds herself in an ideal position to retire as one of the greatest in the world of taekwondo.
However, the nature of the Flint-born athlete is not to choose the easy option – she has confirmed that she will pursue a boxing career after retiring from taekwondo less than a year following a first-round loss at the 2024 Olympic Games.
"It was difficult... and I will always be grateful to the sport," said Jones, 32, speaking to BBC Cymru Sport.
After the Olympic Games concluded, "I needed to start again."
"Most people would have retired and been happy, but I still have the fire in my belly and crave the challenge."
She will face Egypt Criss – daughter of hip-hop stars Anthony 'Treach' Criss of Naughty by Nature and Sandra 'Pepa' Denton of Salt-N-Pepa – in her first boxing bout in Derby on 7 March.
'Everyone looked at me like I was crazy'
Jones earned gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics and again in Rio de Janeiro four years later.
After reaching the pinnacle of taekwondo, Jones now aims to reach the top in a completely new discipline.
She has described her first boxing match as "crazy."
After training for just over a year, Jones quickly became aware of the unforgiving nature of boxing.
"I think one of the biggest challenges people don’t realize is how hard it is to go from being at the top of one sport to being at the bottom of another," Jones explained.
She recalls walking into the boxing gym for the first time, having never punched anyone before.
"I said I wanted to be a boxer and everyone started laughing and looked at me like I was crazy."
Her boxing coach, former professional boxer Stephen 'Swifty' Smith, has extensive experience at the highest level of the sport.
Training under the guidance of former professional boxer Stephen 'Swifty' Smith at the iconic 4 Corners gym in Liverpool, Jade Jones has made significant progress ahead of her first boxing match.
"Gradually, the coaches have seen how quickly I’ve improved," she said.
"I’ve been working hard – it’s a short period to try to learn a completely new sport, but I’m learning very fast and excited to see how I’ve improved and how the new skills will work."
From weigh-ins to the walk to the ring, Jones has prepared thoroughly but aims to enjoy every moment.
Jade Jones Retires from Taekwondo to Pursue Boxing Career
Boxer Lauren Price, the Unified Welterweight World Champion, has inspired Jones. Price, who played football for Wales, was a kickboxer and competed in taekwondo before transitioning to boxing.
Jones looks forward to the support of her friends and family, who will be there under the name 'Team Crazy.'
She also emphasized that her late grandfather, Martin Foulkes, who recently passed away, will be with her every step of the way.
Mr. Foulkes took Jade Jones to her very first taekwondo class when she was a teenager.
"He introduced me to the sport and pushed me to join," Jade said.
"His name is on my shorts, and I will make my grandfather proud.
"I’m there to represent him," she added.
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