3:06 Courtenay hopes to fulfil her ultimate ambition of winning a world title
Courtenay jumped out to a 5-0 record last year, her first as a pro, and was due to be very busy this spring. But like millions of people in the UK, her calendar has been cleared by the coronavirus.
“I was supposed to be out on April 24 (the undercard of Terri Harper vs Natasha Jonas) and again on May 23 for Chisora-Usyk. I had a really busy couple of months coming up. We had a plan. I knew what was happening to get to those bigger fights, it’s put me back.”
Courtenay is in full-on isolation. She lives alone and apart from dropping off food to the older members of her family and waving to them from the kerb, she’s had no human-to-human interaction for weeks. But she credits boxing for giving her the discipline and mental strength to endure.
“Boxing has made me mentally strong, made me more resilient. I hear about a lot of people staying indoors at the moment, just drinking. And fair enough, you have to do what you have to do to get through this, but boxing has given me a focus.”
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Twenty-six-year-old Courtenay used to smoke heavily herself and drink often before she caught the boxing bug as a spectator at Billy Joe Saunders’ British and Commonwealth title defence against John Ryder in September 2013.
She has since committed herself to constant conditioning work to compensate for her lack of amateur schooling and plays down her own ring skills, describing herself as “not the most talented.”
“I’ve got a punch bag in my garage. Last week I was getting down in the dumps, but then the bag arrived and I’m spending about four hours a day in the garage. I’m doing circuits, using the punch bag and weights,” she said.
Courtenay’s taken the extra time to train her mind as well. She’s been reviewing film of her first five fights and watching some of the sport’s greatest, past and present.
“I’ve been studying. Last week I watched Sugar Ray Leonard versus Wilfred Benitez (for the WBC welterweight title in 1979) and Donaire-Inoue (for the WBA super and IBF bantamweight belts last year.)
“Next, it’s Canelo-Golovkin – the second one. I watch the fights looking for certain things, like footwork and head movement. I stop the tape and then try and copy the movements.”
“I study Roberto Duran. I’m an aggressive, come-forward fighter. I know I’ve got one per cent of the talent Duran had in one of his fingers in my whole body, but I love to study his footwork, his head movement, the way he used to slip and feint on the way in.”
As for switching off from boxing, Courtenay confesses to not being a “humongous fan of TV” and prefers to listen to music to relax.
“I’ll watch the odd bit of TV. But I sit there and have Frank Sinatra on. I prefer it so much.”
Courtenay has shown her creative and humorous side on social media during lockdown. She recently put up a split-screen video where she pretended to be Tony Bellew’s child as the former cruiserweight world champion declined his youngster’s repeated requests for sugary treats.
Courtenay has turned her hand to philanthropy too at a time when small businesses, including boxing clubs, face a rocky financial future. She donated one of the gloves from her pro debut to raise £1000 to help keep her first fighting home going.
“The biggest thing is my old amateur club – Islington Boxing Club. It’s a massive, massive club. For them to close (because of lockdown) is a massive hit. They’ve been whacked. It’s big, two big floors and it takes a lot of money just to keep them going.”
And Courtenay’s convinced amateur boxing clubs going to the wall would not only be a blow to the sport’s pro ranks, but also society.
“It’s the fact that Islington Boxing Club keeps hundreds and hundreds of kids off the street and that’s helped get knife crime way down in the area. But those clubs are huge to the sport too. It’s the grassroots where we all started. It’s vital we keep them going for the sport.”
It’s not just clubs that are feeling the pinch. Courtenay like most pro fighters is freelance, getting paid when she boxes, and her last bout was back in December. She’s aware the situation isn’t sustainable long term for many in the fight game.
0:31 Courtenay stopped Valerija Sepetovska last June
“I’m still being paid by some sponsors. But I’ve got bills to pay, a house to pay for, food and outgoings that don’t stop. But the entire nation is in the same boat, we’re all struggling.”
While income may be a concern for Courtenay, she’s certainly willing to forgo her slice of ticket sales if boxing’s comeback has to be behind closed doors.
“I don’t care. I’d fight in my back garden tomorrow!” She said, laughing.
Courtenay’s loosely planning to be part of the Harper-Jonas bill, but will remain “ticking over” until a firm date is announced.
By ticking over, she means running half marathons, training in the garage for hours, pouring over video of Duran and listening to Sinatra. To adapt the lyrics of one of the legendary crooner’s famous songs, she’s doing isolation ‘her way.’
Sourse: skysports.com
